Did you know United Blood Services will not allow bi and gay men to give blood?

Question

I went to give blood this past week and because I am bisexual and I had sex with another man in the past I can never give blood through them. Even though I've had a negative STD test and it was about 10 years ago. The guideline is any man who has had sex with another man since 1977. You can't tell me that straight people are any cleaner than a large portion of today's gay population.

This should change! What do you think?

Answer 1

you're right, it should. they won't allow anybody who's ever had sex w/ another man (except in the case of a single incident if it was considered rape) is allowed to give blood, which boggles my mind completely. i asked the nurse who was taking my blood and she couldn't give me a straight answer. she ended with "well, you're a girl so it doesn't matter" and i said, "well it does matter because i am a human and so are they and therefore it affects me. if a man has sex with another man, EVEN ONCE, with protection and it's known that neither have any stds, they still can't give blood? meanwhile, it's okay if a man was raped by another man to give blood after a year? the policy is not a way to keep diseases under control but a way to keep gay men from donating blood" then i threw in a few statistics, such as in recent years, the percentage of infected heterosexual men has increased astronomically and has slowed down dramatically for homosexual men. the report said that the reasoning is that many homosexual men have been more educated within the gay community and more inclined to have safer sex than heterosexuals. many straight people use condoms to prevent having babies. some prefer anal to vaginal and say the hell w/ a condom, we're not gettin pregnant this way! and opt out. that's the psychology explaining the dramatic increase in heterosexual men contracting aids. now, there hasn't been any studies proving that there's an increase in heterosexual men being raped by homosexual men (excluding the priest-molestation cases lol) and so that can't be a reason. part of the scare/discrimination has to do with the fact that men who have sex with men are portrayed to have sex with multiple partners. the question needs to be asked in a matter that will not be discriminatory based on one's sexual orientation such as "have you ever had sex with a person who has had stds/ have had multiple partners?" it's ridiculous that we're still living in a primitive era where it's okay to discriminate by using statistics, even if the statistics are wrong

oh and one more thing. one user posted a comment regarding the way homosexual men have sex (shoving body parts into an area with bacteria and such) many heterosexual couples have anal sex...are women's feces any healthier than men's? because if not, they need to include a question dismissing anybody who's ever had anal sex. but then i think they'd lose most of their donors

also, the restrictions on getting a tattoo or piercing are for a year because in that year, yes you may contract an infection from it. with prostitutes, it's the increased risk by having sex with multiple partners. if a man was raped by another man, he can give blood after a year. where's the sense in that?? if two dudes had sex only once and it was consensual, however, it's different. they're more inclined than the raped and rapist to practice safe sex... the nurse i spoke to said the reason they said a year was because that's when diseases have shown up in the blood. why should gay men be treated differently than anyone else?

Answer 2

The Food and Drug Administration is responsible for this hysterics-driven requirement, and those collecting blood are supposed to ask. It made sense 20 years ago, but not now, with a severe blood shortage and a very thorough testing process. The American Red Cross requested that this policy be changed, but as the FDA is headed by a Bush political appointee, they were turned down. What makes the policy downright silly is that a straight man can have sex with a female prostitute or an IV drug user, but only needs to wait a year and doesn't need to have an AIDS test before giving blood.

Answer 3

Yes, it's not right, something should change. It's an aftermath of the great blood supply compromise in the 80's. I suppose change may come when HIV hits the hetero population in the same numbers as gay ... maybe that's already here. What is really required is a quick method for validating any blood given. Questions beforehand don't work, people lie. You cannot even give blood for one year from getting a piercing, which was my case. Now, for me, never? Oh wait, according to Bill Clinton what I've done is NOT sex!!! Yayyyy!

Answer 4

As donated blood is tested for HIV before it's used anyway, I really see no reason to exclude them categorically from donating. I looked at some CDC statistics and it looks like gay men do have the highest rate of new HIV infections, so it's not unreasonable that some additional precautions be taken. They could require proof of a clean HIV test and/or ask screening questions about sexual behavior and history, like whether the donor is monogamous or has multiple sexual partners, which I suspect they already question blood donors about.

Answer 5

It's wrong. I am in a monogamous relationship, and we both took each other's virginity. We've been together for over a year, and I can't ever imagine myself with anyone else. I have O negative blood, which anyone can receive, and which there is always a shortage of. I'd love to do my part and donate, but had to stop about a year ago when we first did the deed. Shame, shame...

Answer 6

I thought it was only people that had HIV that could not give blood,meaning straight people or gay people.But if thats the case that gay men can't give blood anyway then that is sick and i think it should change.Most straight people have more junk flowing through their blood now-a-days.

Answer 7

I'm straight, and I do agree that this should change. We all run the same risk of disease and the medical technology for blood testing doesn't change from gay to straight. Nor does the # of years it takes for communicable diseases to show up. It's a shame we still think like this even know we know certain diseases are not "GAY" diseases. This was in the news a while ago, too...

Answer 8

I've never donated blood, but I have heard that. If I ever have the desire to give blood...then I will just lie and tell them I'm not gay. Not because I'm ashamed or trying to be something I'm not or anything like that....but for the mere purpose of saving somebody else's life. If someone was going to either die or get my blood...I wouldn't want them to die just because our society is screwed up.

Answer 9

I don't think it should change at all. All high risk groups are barred from giving blood. Hep c doesn't show up in an aids test .I am glad that they blood banks are protecting clients through proper screening. take no chances, enough innocent people have died because of contaminated blood.

Answer 10

THAT IS TRUE, A LOT OF US HAVE KNOWN THAT FOR YEARS... THEY WILL TAKE BLOOD FROM A SKANKY PROSTITUE BUT NOT ME BECAUSE I HAVE SEX WITH ME. IT ALL STARTED WHEN REAGEN WOULDN'T STOP AIDS BACK IN THE 80'S AND PEOPLE GOT AIDS THROUGH A BLOOD TRANFUSION, THIS IS OUR COUNTRIES WAY OF PROTECTING THE GOOD PEOPLE FROM US EVIL SINNERS. IT'S A SHAME, AND JUST WHEN YOU ARE FEELING THAT YOU WANT TO GIVE SOMETING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY THEY WEILL TELL YOU THAT THEY DON'T WANT IT. IT IS A FEDERAL LAW THAT YOU CAN'T DONATE BLOOD, NOT JUST THAT ONE BLOOD BANK, EVERY BLOOD BANK WILL TELL YOU THE SAME THING.