FDA meeting revisits ban on gay blood donors

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration was scheduled to meet March 9 to hear arguments from organizations that want the government to revise guidelines on a 23-year-old policy prohibiting gay men from donating blood. [...]

Officials with the American Red Cross, American Association of Blood Banks and America’s Blood Centers confirmed that the three organizations would release a joint policy statement at the conference addressing the donor ban.

They declined to discuss their recommendation before the official announcement, but the alignment of the three groups suggested the Red Cross may be throwing its support behind a push to revise the nationwide ban. [...]

“With new testing the window is as small as two weeks,” Schneider said. “And even with standard testing, the results are known within three months. Even a one-year ban on gay men donating blood makes no sense.”

Schneider said the best possible way to ensure a safe blood supply is to remove sexual orientation from the equation.

“Ask about drug use, unprotected sex and the status of partners,” he said. “It’s the least discriminatory way of determining someone who is at risk.” (source)

Who the hell cares?

This is an old fight for me and it carries a LOT of old baggage with it. After college, when we moved to San Mateo, California, I would give blood at every opportunity. I would participate in every blood drive when the Red Cross came to my company. In addition to that, I would give blood on my own every month (they only came to my company quarterly). I really thought that I was helping my fellow citizens out.

Then, in the early 1980’s, AIDS came along. There were no reliable tests in those days. It made sense for the ban at that time. So, since AIDS was being spread mostly in the gay community (in the United States), they put a complete ban on gay men who had had sex with any man. So now, I am ban for life from giving blood.

Then there’s the fact that AIDS became known as the gay disease, despite the fact that in Africa, it is spread primarily by straight sex. In essence, AIDS is a disease of opportunity, not a disease of sexual practice. Still, because it was spreading in the gay community, I accepted the ban as being on the safe side.

Later, accurate tests were developed, and today, all donated blood is being tested. So here we are today with a complete ban against gay men, while straight men who regularly visit prostitutes do not have a life time ban. I makes no sense, unless of course there’s more to it - like bigotry.

Either way, this is a non-issue to me now. Like many things in life, it has fallen into that category of “not worth my time and energy.” But that’s just me. I am thankful for young gay people who still have such a fresh look at the world who is still fighting this issue and still caring enough to fight it. It is the right thing to do.

Tomorrow, if the American Red Cross decided to lift the ban, would I give blood? No, I wouldn’t. I’m too bitter over the whole issue. They have held on dearly to their fears against scientific data. I will not forget or forgive that. I no longer have an interest in giving blood, and I never will again.

Before I am judged as being an uncaring jerk who only cares for himself, here’s a bit about me. People who know me would tell you that I’d give a kidney or bone marrow to help a friend. That is what I am. My problem is not with people who need the blood. My problem is the bureaucracy that has turned this into a purely political issue right up there with “don’t ask, don’t tell”. I no longer have time or patience for that.

I sound angry, don't I? Yeah, I’m pissed off. So what else is new? There is always a price to be paid in treating people like shit. But it’s an old pissed off and I’ve put it where it belongs. It doesn’t effect my ability to enjoy life at this point in time.

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