FDA lifts ban on gay men donating blood, with restrictions

[N3bu]

I'm not sure I understand the FDA's choice here.

I mean if your concerned about the blood supply, then advancements in medical technology have clearly made it possible for them to screen all incoming supplies for HIV and AIDs, as stated.

[Ringoringa]

So they screen ALL the blood ANYWAY (as they should; gay or straight, if I'm getting blood, I want it screened!), and they're STILL not totally lifting the ban?

[VeganIncubus]

N3bu

I'm not sure I understand the FDA's choice here.

I mean if your concerned about the blood supply, then advancements in medical technology have clearly made it possible for them to screen all incoming supplies for HIV and AIDs, as stated.

The blood of men who have sex with men becomes magical and messes up all tests and scientific methods. Therefore they simply avoid the trouble by having them not have sex so their blood won't become a super-mystical substance.
Apparently.

Ringoringa

Nope. Apparently the only solution is a partial 'lift' on the ban. Asking all men who've had sex with other men to not have sex because well...science?

[Blood Valkyrie]

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

[VeganIncubus]

Blood Valkyrie

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

arrow Men who've had sex with men. It was put into action in like 1983. That's 31 years...I mean, I know you can do the math, but still.

[N3bu]

Blood Valkyrie

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

At the time it was instituted HIV was much more rampant (or so I hear) within the gay community and I don't think they had the capacity to test to much blood so easily.

[Blood Valkyrie]

GayAndGodlessVegan

Blood Valkyrie

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

arrow Men who've had sex with men. It was put into action in like 1983. That's 31 years...I mean, I know you can do the math, but still.

I was born in 1990 ... so I don't exactly remember anything in the 80s. O_O

[Blood Valkyrie]

N3bu

Blood Valkyrie

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

At the time it was instituted HIV was much more rampant (or so I hear) within the gay community and I don't think they had the capacity to test to much blood so easily.

Took them long enough to remove the ban. neutral

[JamesWN]

Speaking of bloodletting bans, do they still have the one for people who were living in Germany in the early 90s? Would Mad Cow have manifested in people who had somehow gotten infected by now?

[Stale Taste]

GayAndGodlessVegan

Stale Taste

Gays and bisexuals only account for 2% of the US population. Some of them are not even having a**l sex because they are lesbians, not gay men. Yes, there is an increased risk of contracting HIV from a**l sex, but there are more heterosexual couples out there having a**l sex than there homosexual couples.

arrow Not just bisexual and gay men have sex with other men. Straight men can have sex with other men and still identify as straight. Sexual identity does not equal sexual orientation, that should be made clear to everyone.

arrow That is very possible. I guess the stigma is between men having a**l sex.

Heteroflexible=/=heterosexual

[VeganIncubus]

Stale Taste

GayAndGodlessVegan

Stale Taste

Gays and bisexuals only account for 2% of the US population. Some of them are not even having a**l sex because they are lesbians, not gay men. Yes, there is an increased risk of contracting HIV from a**l sex, but there are more heterosexual couples out there having a**l sex than there homosexual couples.

arrow Not just bisexual and gay men have sex with other men. Straight men can have sex with other men and still identify as straight. Sexual identity does not equal sexual orientation, that should be made clear to everyone.

arrow That is very possible. I guess the stigma is between men having a**l sex.

Heteroflexible=/=heterosexual

How so? I mean, if a straight man has sex with other men, he can still identify as straight.
Sexual identity =/= sexual orientation/preference.

Our identity is ours to define.

[VeganIncubus]

Blood Valkyrie

GayAndGodlessVegan

Blood Valkyrie

Wait. There was a ban on gay men to donate blood?

That's just ******** stupid. That's like a charity not accepting money from gay men.

Money's money, and good blood is good blood.

arrow Men who've had sex with men. It was put into action in like 1983. That's 31 years...I mean, I know you can do the math, but still.

I was born in 1990 ... so I don't exactly remember anything in the 80s. O_O

I know. All I'm saying that people have been barred for 31 years from donating blood.
^-^

[zweet_dreamz]

I don't get why the ban exists after so many years.
Straight people can also contract HIV.
Just make it a requirement to have everyone tested before they donate for the first time of if they have sex with multiple partners, and then test it again when the blood comes in. It's safer to do a double check before transfusion and no one is ostracized for their sexual preference.

[VeganIncubus]

zweet_dreamz

I don't get why the ban exists after so many years.
Straight people can also contract HIV.
Just make it a requirement to have everyone tested before they donate for the first time of if they have sex with multiple partners, and then test it again when the blood comes in. It's safer to do a double check before transfusion and no one is ostracized for their sexual preference.

Apparently that idea has escaped the FDA.

Their reasoning from here

Quote:

A history of male-to-male sex is associated with an increased risk for exposure to and transmission of certain infectious diseases, including HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Men who have had sex with other men represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV. In 2010, MSM accounted for at least 61% of all new HIV infections in the U.S. and an estimated 77% of diagnosed HIV infections among males were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact. Between 2008 and 2010, the estimated overall incidence of HIV was stable in the U.S. However the incidence in MSM increased 12%, while it decreased in other populations. The largest increase was a 22% increase in MSM aged 13 to 24 years. Since younger individuals are more likely to donate blood, the implications of this increase in incidence need to be further evaluated.

And this jewel

Quote:

Why are some people, such as heterosexuals with multiple partners, allowed to donate blood despite increased risk for transmitting HIV and hepatitis?

Current scientific data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that, as a group, men who have sex with other men are at a higher risk for transmitting infectious diseases or HIV than are individuals in other risk categories. From 2007 through 2010, among adult and adolescent males, the annual number of diagnosed HIV infections attributed to MSM increased, while the numbers of infections attributed to other risks among males decreased. Among adult and adolescent females, the annual number of diagnosed HIV infections attributed to injection drug use and heterosexual contact both decreased.

I'd like to look at their data and the people they've sampled and stuff and not just from HIV tests people get done and stuff, because frankly, I feel they're being unscientific.

[Stale Taste]

GayAndGodlessVegan

Stale Taste

GayAndGodlessVegan

Stale Taste

Gays and bisexuals only account for 2% of the US population. Some of them are not even having a**l sex because they are lesbians, not gay men. Yes, there is an increased risk of contracting HIV from a**l sex, but there are more heterosexual couples out there having a**l sex than there homosexual couples.

arrow Not just bisexual and gay men have sex with other men. Straight men can have sex with other men and still identify as straight. Sexual identity does not equal sexual orientation, that should be made clear to everyone.

arrow That is very possible. I guess the stigma is between men having a**l sex.

Heteroflexible=/=heterosexual

How so? I mean, if a straight man has sex with other men, he can still identify as straight.
Sexual identity =/= sexual orientation/preference.

Our identity is ours to define.

Because you can think whatever you want, but there are definitions for all the different orientations out there. Heterosexuals means only the opposite sex. Think of yourself as heterosexual if you are sex with guys, but you aren't. It means your identity fails to reflect what is reality, which is a sign of mental illness. You can think of yourself as a flamingo, but that doesn't make you one.


1. Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between persons of opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to persons of the opposite sex; it "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

2. Heteroflexibility is a form of a sexual orientation or situational sexual behavior characterized by minimal homosexual activity in an otherwise primarily heterosexual sexual orientation that is considered to distinguish it from bisexuality. It has been characterized as "mostly straight".

3. The corresponding situation in which homosexual activity predominates has also been described, termed homoflexibility.

4. Homosexuality (from Ancient Greek ὁμός, meaning "same", and Latin sexus, meaning "sex" wink is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same sex. It "also refers to a person's sense of identity based on those attractions, related behaviors, and membership in a community of others who share those attractions."

5. Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction or sexual behavior toward both males and females,[1][2][3] and may also encompass romantic or sexual attraction to people of any gender identity or to a person irrespective of that person's biological sex or gender, which is sometimes termed pansexuality.[4][5][6]

6. Pansexuality, or omnisexuality,[1] is sexual attraction, sexual desire, romantic love, or emotional attraction toward people of any sex or gender identity.[2][3] Self-identified pansexuals may consider pansexuality a sexual orientation,[3] and refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are insignificant or irrelevant in determining whether they will be sexually attracted to others.[4][5]

There is the whole ******** tree of sexualities for you. I wish you well on your journey on developing an accurate self-identity.