Bad Blood

I run the risk of being "gay STD" boy by posting this one, but i find this to be another relevant fight.

Although the American Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks, and America’s Blood Centers have declared the ban on accepting blood donations from gay men and MSM (men who have sex with men) to be "scientifically and medically unwaranted," the FDA has redeclared its stance that taking MSM blood is just too dangerous. Despite the fact that several other countires around the world have lifted this ban, the FDA claims that the screening technology is hardly infallable and it's too easy for a new case of HIV to go unnoticed; conseqeuently, they need to eliminate high risk patients through their questionaire. While it is an undeniable fact that unprotected anal sex and the general sexual practices of MSM are high risk factors for AIDS/HIV, the HIV case rate is actually highest in the United States among blacks, particularly black women, but you see no stipulation that you cannot donate blood if you've been a black woman since 1978. Of course not- that would be racist and sexist. And this is homophobic.

I am not a medical professional, nor much of a scientist at all, but I can't help but think there are other screening questions that could be effective in blocking out a fresh case of HIV. Other countries, such as Spain, allow MSM who haven't had sex with a man in the past year to donate. That's a step forward, but I think we could do better: "Have you had unprotected sex with a man since you were last tested negative for HIV? Have you had sex with anyone outside of the context of a monogamous, protected relationship since you were last tested negative for HIV?"

And, again, not a scientist, but isn't men having anal sex with women also a high-risk activity? There's just as much likelihood for semen to infect the blood stream in anal sex with a female as there is with a male. So, by the FDAs standards, shouldn't there be a ban on blood donations from ANYONE who has participated in anal sex since 1978, regardless of whether or not it was MSM? Furthermore, if the FDA is primarily worried about their screening technology not catching new HIV infections that have yet to fully manifiest, then why ban donations from every man who has had sex with men since 1978? Wouldn't "since 2008" suffice?

While anal sex is a potential pollutant of blood, being gay does not mean being polluted. HIV/AIDS is and has been a problem in the gay community in the Untied States, but it is hardly just a gay problem. Furthermore, blood drive organizations frequently cite the shortage of donatable blood and their need for more blood for more transfusions. If the FDA continues its policy that denies MSM without addressing the real risk factors, it will continue to harm our understanding of HIV/AIDS, our understanding of gay people, and the lives of those in need of blood transfusions that are denied access to healthy blood due to a homophobia-induced shortage.

-Adam