On donating blood and gay men
So... I went to donate blood the other day. I have been planning on doing so for a long time and I finally went. It was something I wanted to do at least once in my life.
When I was in the US they had blood drive come to our high school, but that doesn’t happen here. The one I went to was held at the lobby of a concert hall. It stays there for about 5 days and then they move somewhere else.
The thing I wonder about is whether it is discrimination towards gay men to ban them from ever giving blood or whether it is just a wise precaution.
There was a health survey to make sure that the blood you give is safe.
A question to women: “During the past 12 months has your male sex partner had sex with another man?”
A question to men: “Have you ever had sex with another man?”
There was also a question: “Have you lived in Britain for more than 6 months during 1.1.1980-31.12.1996?”
“Have you ever been given blood outside the Scandinavia?”
If you say yes to any of these questions you are not allowed to donate blood ever. Also, if you have ever used drugs that require needles you won’t be able to ever donate blood.
Personally I never lived in a world where AIDS/HIV was only a disease of gays, but I wonder if some people truly thought that homosexuality and a disease were somehow connected.
I think that it was a wise precaution. Driven by fear, surely. I don’t see this limitation as discrimination. No one sees it as discrimination to ban people lived in the Britain during that time from donating blood. [that’s when they had the mad-cow disease rummaging around]
Nowadays, at least in Finland, you can get HIV-tested free of charge. I think that gay men who are HIV tested and get a negative result should be allowed to donate blood. And then they would just have to answer the same questions about their sex partners and have the same time limitations with having a new sex partner as straight people and lesbians have (4 months). Or perhaps longer time limitations because they are a risk group. What about 12 months? That’s the limitation if you or your partner has paid for sex.
So far though, the statistics are against it. If gay men were aloud to donate blood the risk of the blood being contaminated will rise significantly. And since all scientific research is based on statistics the restrictions are understandable. In the future things might change.
What I find “interesting” is that question for women. “During the past 12 months has your male sex partner had sex with another man?”
Why is there a time limitation? Does that mean that if you had sex 13 months ago with a man, who had had sex with another man, you can donate blood?
Shouldn’t it be so that those women would be banned from ever donating blood? That might be the case, truly I don’t know. But since there is that “12 months” in the question I would assume that they are not banned for life from donating.
Any thoughts on the topic?
When I was in the US they had blood drive come to our high school, but that doesn’t happen here. The one I went to was held at the lobby of a concert hall. It stays there for about 5 days and then they move somewhere else.
The thing I wonder about is whether it is discrimination towards gay men to ban them from ever giving blood or whether it is just a wise precaution.
There was a health survey to make sure that the blood you give is safe.
A question to women: “During the past 12 months has your male sex partner had sex with another man?”
A question to men: “Have you ever had sex with another man?”
There was also a question: “Have you lived in Britain for more than 6 months during 1.1.1980-31.12.1996?”
“Have you ever been given blood outside the Scandinavia?”
If you say yes to any of these questions you are not allowed to donate blood ever. Also, if you have ever used drugs that require needles you won’t be able to ever donate blood.
Personally I never lived in a world where AIDS/HIV was only a disease of gays, but I wonder if some people truly thought that homosexuality and a disease were somehow connected.
I think that it was a wise precaution. Driven by fear, surely. I don’t see this limitation as discrimination. No one sees it as discrimination to ban people lived in the Britain during that time from donating blood. [that’s when they had the mad-cow disease rummaging around]
Nowadays, at least in Finland, you can get HIV-tested free of charge. I think that gay men who are HIV tested and get a negative result should be allowed to donate blood. And then they would just have to answer the same questions about their sex partners and have the same time limitations with having a new sex partner as straight people and lesbians have (4 months). Or perhaps longer time limitations because they are a risk group. What about 12 months? That’s the limitation if you or your partner has paid for sex.
So far though, the statistics are against it. If gay men were aloud to donate blood the risk of the blood being contaminated will rise significantly. And since all scientific research is based on statistics the restrictions are understandable. In the future things might change.
What I find “interesting” is that question for women. “During the past 12 months has your male sex partner had sex with another man?”
Why is there a time limitation? Does that mean that if you had sex 13 months ago with a man, who had had sex with another man, you can donate blood?
Shouldn’t it be so that those women would be banned from ever donating blood? That might be the case, truly I don’t know. But since there is that “12 months” in the question I would assume that they are not banned for life from donating.
Any thoughts on the topic?