Critics believe this is not a gay issue but a fear for safety
By DMITRY RASHNITSOV
Since 1983, men who have had sex with men have not been able to donate blood but after urging from several prominent groups, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is looking into reversing the ban.
Blood donation policy is set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and agencies that collect blood donations, such as the American Red Cross, are bound by it.
While the FDA has previously reviewed the policy in 2000 and 2006, supporters believe this could be the year that the agency changes its recommendations and allows gay men to finally donate blood.
“Not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban.” said Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass). “A law that was once considered medically justified is today simply outdated and needs to end, just as last year we ended the travel ban against those with HIV.”
The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability will consider the issue in meetings June 10 and 11 in Rockville, Maryland. The committee makes recommendations to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA.
When the ban first took affect in 1983, there were no tests that could detect the HIV-virus in the blood. But today, all donated blood is mandated to be tested for HIV with two different, highly accurate tests. Between these two tests, the risk of tainted blood entering the blood supply undetected is virtually zero.
The American Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers, and AABB all support repealing the ban, citing the law as “medically and scientifically unwarranted.” The American Medical Association also supports modifying the ban.
However, those that continue to support the ban say that it is not an anti-gay thing, but that statistics show that men who have sex with men are 15 times higher to test positive for HIV, Hepatitis B and syphilis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“I do not see this being a gay rights issue,” Dr. Jay Brooks, professor of pathology at the University of Texas Health Science Center said to CNN,. “The interest of the recipient is greater than any donor. I’d hate to tell the one person who got HIV through a blood transfusion, ‘Sorry, we changed the regulation.’”
Dr. Joel Ginsberg, head of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association said that there are other groups of ‘high-risk’ individuals who are allowed to donate blood.
“If you’re a man who’s been with a female prostitute, but it was more than a year ago, it’s fine, you can give blood,” Ginsberg said. “If you’re a person who’s had sex with a hemophiliac, as long as you haven’t had sex with a hemophiliac within the previous year, you’re fine. HIV among heterosexuals is growing and significant now.”
Seventeen other Senators had joined Sen. Kerry in supporting the lifting of the gay ban.
Support is also coming from cyberspace. Nearly 8,000 people have joined a Facebook group in support of the ban.
The Human Rights Campaign has also been strongly pushing for the ban to end as part of their agenda for this year.
“In 2010, we cannot continue to turn away healthy donors based on outdated stereotypes and a decades-old understanding of HIV and AIDS,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese.
