Why can't gay men legally donate blood?

Question

I helped my wife set up a blood drive the other day and I noticed one of the questions was have you had sex with another man. That question bans the donor from giving his blood. I find this wrong, since all donated blood is screened for HIV and other diseases. I also find many gay people give a lot to the community they live in. What is up with that question?

Answer 1

Great question thanks!


It is a hideous and outdated bias.


What group i society know the most about AIDS and HIV? What group is tested most often? Seems to me that they'd want gay men to donate.

It's disgusting to me that an IV drug user or a prostitute is held in higher regard than me.

Answer 2

Really the question applies to those who have anal sex (that includes many straight women, although I guess that's not common knowledge to the blood banks yet).

Anal sex puts you at higher risk for contracting HIV via tears, as the anus was not, well, "designed" for sex.

The problem is, sometimes the HIV virus can go undetected, especially if contracted only recently. That is why anyone who is in a high risk group can't donate.

In theory, anyone who is having ANY kind of unprotected sex should not be allowed to donate if we want to keep the blood supply safe.

If you have a monogamous partner, are HIV negative, and use condoms, it shouldn't be an issue. But not all people do this. So it is a blanket ban, since the risk of HIV transmission is much higher through anal sex.

It's not about gay rights, it's about reducing the risk that a 5 year old car accident victim does not end up HIV positive 1 year after a blood transfusion.

Answer 3

The only reason is that they are predjudice and the government lets them get away with it because Gay men are not protected under the same laws as straight men. There currently is no law stating that no one can show predjudice for sexual orientation. Although I have said many times before that the gay community needs to start there own version of The Red Cross and call it the Rainbow Cross. If we are not going to get help from a government funded program such as the red cross then we to start our own. The government is not going to help us in the near future but there are many out there in the gay community that need help now. There are so many cancer wellness centers that recieve government funding but how many A.I.D.S. wellness centers do you see. I, to this day, have not seen any. And please do not get me wrong, I know that AIDS is not the only reason our community needs help and that gay people are not the only ones with HIV?AIDS that need help. But if the HIV?AIDS was only transmitted through hetrosexual contact, then there would be all kinds of wellness centers that are funded by the government. and also, I think that it is good that there are cancer wellness centers. I have known many people struck by cancer. Some lived and most died. So, I am not putting those down. The real issue is, is that there is no support for the gay, lesbian, bi-sexaul and transgendered community. If we, gay taxpaying citizens, are not going to get support from the government that we pay our taxes to, then we need to help each other.

Answer 4

Yes I know its an emotional issue BUT in the end they are a business. If ONE unit of blood with HIV slips through and someone gets infected they can be sued for millions. Statistically gay men continue to be the highest risk group - it's fact as per the CDC. And unprotected sex is on the rise in men of your age group. They are simply protecting their business interests and they are allowed to do that, no matter what you think. There are LOTS of others ways to help in the community, this is just one.

Answer 5

Because people are ignorant.

Some folks still believe that HIV is a gay disease, when it has been proven that now millions of straight people are HIV+.

This misinformation is not helping anyone.

And since a man could always lie and give blood anyway, they still have to screen every donation, so it seems like another way for the government to say, 'we hate you.'

Of course, the government will say, we are doing it for 'public safety.' But this is a lie, since it doesn't make scientific sense.

Answer 6

Homophobia from the AIDS epidemic. People were becoming HIV+ from blood they received and it was blamed on the people that donated without knowing instead of the idiots who forgot to check for blood-borne ailments like HIV. The doctors get an escape goat and the conservatives get to bash the gay community. The people in power win and the GLBT community suffers, along with the people that die from not getting needed blood.

Answer 7

Outdated information. You'll notice, that's the ONLY risk group indicated that has a PERAMANENT ban. So, unless HIV has a different incubation period in gay men, it's clearly outdated / passively homophobic bullshit. I could handle if the question asked "within the past year" like it does for women, but it doesn't. They don't want gay blood in the supply.

Answer 8

Yeah it sucks, and we're actually not allowed to give at all.

My best friend lived in NY on 9/11 and I was so freaked out because I didn't get to talk to her for days and had no idea if she was alive or not.

I organized a blood drive, by myself, at my work, which was a huge financial institution, and when it came time for me to give blood I couldn't because I wouldn't lie when it came to that question.

I've been tested several times for STDs because I like to stay on top of that, and I was in a long monogamous relationship then, so it really hurt that I couldn't help like I wanted to.

Ended up ok, my friend was fine, she could see the towers but was far enough away. But still I felt like I should have been able to help.

Answer 9

I don't know but it kind of pisses me off. They test blood now. My grandma died of AIDS because she got a blood transfusion in 1982 before they started testing but she was never mad or upset about it because she always said if she hadn't gotten that blood transplant she would have died t right then and she was able to have another 15 years with her family. So since the blood is tested now I think we should take any we can get- it saves lives and there's no threat of contaminated blood anymore.

Answer 10

I've always wondered the same thing. I just do not understand why, esp if all blood must be screened. I think the question should be more like "Have you had unprotected sex". But our country doesn't do things in the best manner.