traildustfotm posted: " Gay men push to end 30-year blood donation ban
By Cheryl Wetzstein The Washington Times Sunday, December 1, 2013 A push
by activists to ease the 30-year-old blanket ban on blood donations from
gay and bisexual men faces a key test this week as a " Respond to this
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<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/traildustfotm/> President Will
Soon Be Able To Donate
Blood<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/2013/12/02/president-will-soon-be-able-to-donate-blood/>
by
traildustfotm <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/traildustfotm/>
[image: homo]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/homo.jpg>
Gay men push to end 30-year blood donation ban
By Cheryl Wetzstein <http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/cheryl-wetzstein/>
The Washington Times
Sunday, December 1, 2013
[image:
Gay-pride-parade-fairy]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/gay-pride-parade-fairy.jpg>A
push by activists to ease the 30-year-old blanket ban on blood donations
from gay and bisexual men faces a key test this week as a federal panel
hears results of the latest research. The findings will be released amid
growing pressure from politicians and advocates, including college
students, to change the policy.
Critics say the ban is a hangover from the early, fear-filled days of AIDS,
stigmatizing gay men and ignoring advances in treatment and detection in
the decades since.
Supporters of the policy say politics, not science, is driving the proposed
change, which would heighten the risk of spreading
HIV<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hiv-infection/>,
the virus that causes AIDS, when the medical demand for blood donations is
decreasing.
[image: homo2]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/homo2.jpg>
Under Food and Drug
Administration<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/food-and-drug-administration/>
rules,
men who have had sex with men (MSM) since 1977 are ineligible to donate
blood. An acknowledgment of having male homosexual relations at any time in
one’s life is enough to disqualify a potential donor.
“This policy is discriminatory and inadequate,” said a petition drive at
WhiteHouse.gov started in early November by students at the University of
Michigan <http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/university-of-michigan/>.
[image:
gay_parade2]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/gay_parade2.jpg>The
students’ solution is to change the questionnaire to ask prospective blood
donors, “Have you had unprotected sexual contact with a new partner in the
past 12 weeks?”
A “yes” answer would trigger a deferral “based on the window period of
HIV<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/hiv-infection/>,”
the petition said. “This change avoids discrimination and addresses risky
behaviors that presently go overlooked. All individuals should be eligible
to donate if they otherwise pass all of the
FDA<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/food-and-drug-administration/>’s
requirements, including a disease-free status,” the petition said.
[image: gay-parade-heels-float]
Others say safety must remain the priority.
“The pressure for change is coming not because of a shortage of blood, but
because of the politics of sexual orientation,” said Peter
Sprigg<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/peter-sprigg/>,
senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research
Council<http://www.washingtontimes.com/topics/family-research-council/>
.
Such politicization “should not play any role in the decision making on a
health-related issue, on protecting the health of the American people,” he
said.
Read the rest of this story in its natural habitat at:
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/dec/1/with-new-hiv-research-fda-may-let-gay-men-donate-b/#ixzz2mMghvhOz
[image:
HIV-Infected]<http://fellowshipofminds.files.wordpress.com/2013/12/hiv-infected.jpg>
*traildustfotm <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/author/traildustfotm/>* |
December 2, 2013 at 4:15 pm | Tags: AIDS in the blood
supply<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=aids-in-the-blood-supply>,
HIV <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=hiv>, militant
homsexuals<http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?tag=militant-homsexuals>|
Categories: Obama's
America <http://fellowshipoftheminds.com/?cat=12285619> | URL:
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