Banning gay men from donating blood

Shouldn't make a difference, as it has been said anybody can have AIDS. They just have to check each donors blood to see it is healthy first and foremost, and had it been it can be refused or denied. I find it funny that the powers that be are happy enough to ostracize common people for trying to do something nice, you know, save another persons life and all that stuff.

The arguments they put forward are just an excuse to act homophobic, plain and simple. I wonder if these people were dying and they needed a blood transfusing, they would stick by their guns and not accept 'gay' blood when it was all that could be offered- I highly believe they wouldn't.

So yeah, I think it's all fucked up and plain insulting.

 

Of course anyone can have HIV. The screening process is to reduce the amount of tainted blood drawn that will be a waste of equipment costs and everyone's time.

 

I think banning gay men from giving blood is a bunch of crap and is totally discriminatory.

 

This truth is a big problem... perhaps better said:
"People are generally indifferent to things that they think don't affect them."

The thing is to allow "popular" pressure to sway decision toward maintaining a discriminatory policy sets a bad precedent when people won't stand up and call it what it is then it becomes easy to subdivide the population based initially on easy to target groups- like felons, violent offenders, people with a history of drug abuse, etc.

General acceptance of the myth that the blood supply is tainted when gay men donate is what's behind the ban- therefor the policy is based on ignorance. Popular willingness to throw a segment of the population under the proverbial bus is something that doesn't happen in a vacuum... the government pays attention to this... and is quick to exploit it.

Divide and conquer couldn't be more of mantra to those confronted with matters of social policy.

 

I dont think they should be banned,I think they should have to show poof of being tested and being cleaned for everything.

 

Then as should everyone.

 

Yea everyone should.

 

I agree

 

It is not only those who are gay who can not donate blood. If you have traveled to certain countries you can not, if you have recent tattoos or piercings you can not also. As well as the laundry list I already posted.

These policies all came about after a tainted blood scare and are there for a reason. There are now some prominent doctors who are asking that it be reviewed and new rules implemented.

All blood is screened more than once and it is a costly procedure, especially considering that there is no charge for it when you need it.

When your immune system is compromised and you require a transfusion, the last thing anyone needs is blood from a compromised immune donor, be that HIV or Hep or any other blood crossing disease.

 

There aren't many equipment costs, and the blood will be tested anyway.

In the 80's when they thought HIV was a gay virus and didn't test for it accurately, the ban made sense.

Now we understand the virus. it's not very prevalent in the US, and can be tested for, and our needs for blood are real, while the modern danger of drawing blood is almost non existent.


I found this out recently, the strains of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia are seperate from the strains in North America. Much more likely to spread through heterosexual sex, and that's the reason for the higher rate in those places more than proper use of condoms in North America.

 

Here in Canada, donating blood is like a charity, the only thing you get in return is warm fuzzies. If a charity you want to donate to does not accept your offer, I don't feel you've been done an injustice. This is like trying to force the kids at school to invite you to their birthday parties.

Also, it's not politically correct, but the 4 people I have known personally with HIV (1 is still alive) are all gay men. But, I'm sure with the kids these days obsession with anal sex will soon change that.

BTW, my own blood gets turned down every time because of my iron levels. Boo hoo. I'm crying. I want justice, they should have to take my blood because I offered it.

 

If I remember correctly, one strand of the virus originally transferred to humans from chimps, another from marmosets, a chimp bite is possible, but three guesses as to the most likely cause of transferance

 

You're missing the point

what about those gay men who don't have HIV? Okay, you've known 4 gay men with the disease, but with the millions of gay people on the planet i'm sure there are is a huge majority of people being shunned because of the of it.

And this is not meant to sound racist, but to make my point, they accept a black persons blood- and rightly so. It's unfair to discriminate but there is a HUGE problem with aids in some of the poorer countries of the world.

They make the precaution with these people. They could do it with a gay man, it is just pointless stereotyping and prejudice.

 

I know off hand about 7 gay men who are close friends, I have met many more. None of those had HIV. However, someone I worked with had a brother with HIV and he wasn't gay

 

I'm not talking about the total of gay people I know, I am talking about the total number of people with HIV I know. I know many gay people who don't have HIV.

YOU are missing the point. Shunned? Please. That is a bit much. What about the people who had responsible, sterile equipment tattoos? People who had jaundice as a child? Are they being shunned, too, or do you have to be gay for that? There are a lot of other people who are refused, and there is probably nothing wrong with their blood.

If you feel so strongly, do something about it besides posting eye-rolling smilies on a message board. I personally don't care who can and can't donate blood, as long as the blood that is donated is safe.

 

I just believe all one has to do is get themselves checked for aids, whether they are gay, strait, black, tatooed, whatever. If you get the green light then that's fair enough- donate away.

But since that's still not the case, it's stereotyping. All gay men ARE promiscuous, huh? Anal sex and promiscuousness is all pretty apparent in the heterosexual world as well. And in a world of obscene safety measures and big brother sensibilities, the fact these people can donate perhaps unsafe blood is disgusting. If you are worried about safety, never have a blood transfusion.

I mean, you still haven't suggested why black blood and gay blood are different. Both are 'stereotypically AID-ridden (no, I do not think that), but one is OK and the other is not?

And you can argue that people with tattoos could be ostracized, but saying that is like suggesting, due to human error, you shouldn't trust anyone who has ever had a jab at their doctors, schools, anywhere. But AGAIN, that's why a simple AIDS test will suffice.

I'm not wrong about this, it's all pretty simple. Just check the person first. I am fed up of this double standard living, and hell, i'm not even gay.

 

Why would I? When did skin colour enter into this? That is not a stereotype in Canada.

As far as I know, if a person has been exposed to HIV, they have to be tested every six months because it can take months or years to show up. It's not just a simple test.

Again, with the strong words, ostracized? Are you for real? A charity doesn't accept a donation and a person is ostracized?

 

For some reason everyone assumes that homosexuals are de facto naturally deviant because they’ve chosen to have sex with other men or women eliminating any doubt as to their motivation; and thru action, one can infer multiple-sex partners (and why not) its no longer about boy meets girl, boy fucks girl, baby pops out, family is born – its about sex and only about sex and how much gratification one can garner


h

 

Skin color shouldn't be stereotype. AIDS is at it's largest in the poorer countries in the world, though. It should raise alarm bells.

Whether the test is simple or not, it shouldn't be discounted if people's safety is at stake.

And I suppose a charity should never punch a gift horse in the mouth. I hope the next time you buy someone a present they tell you to 'fuck off'. That would be ironic.

Anyways, I don't care about what you're saying, so i'm respectfully ducking out of this one. How dare I equal rights, i'm sorry. You win.

But it's a pretty shallow victory. Maybe you should buy a cake and write the words 'fuck gay benevolence' on the top- make make it taste that little bit sweeter