Stephanie Pardy
Megan Stack
Mr. Gross
English 12 B (3)
9 May 2014
MSMs Donating Blood
There is someone in need of a blood transfusion every two seconds in the United States.
With such a high demand of blood and donations it does not make sense to discriminate on who
is allowed to donate. In other countries there may be a limitation on how long after a man has
had sex with another man before they can donate. Men who have sex with men have to wait five
years to donate an organ. After the donation is complete, the blood goes to a laboratory to be
tested for anything that could harm a person that would receive that blood. Racially, African
Americans are most affected by HIV, it would be wrong to ban all African Americans yet it is
okay to ban homosexuals for the same reason. The FDA’s biggest problem with lifting the ban is
that HIV is associated with male-to-male contact; however there is more to it than that. The
religious affiliations feel that it would be against their religion to allow gay men to donate blood.
One thing to help solve the problem is to put a one year deferral on MSM’s after having male-tomale contact with a new partner. The ban for blood donation from a MSM must be lifted
throughout the United States.
Out of 42 countries 25 of them do not allow men who have sex with men to donate blood.
In the United States a woman who has had sex with a MSM has to wait a year to give blood
(Seed 1). Even if the man is not diagnosed with HIV or any other sexually transmitted diseases,
the woman still must wait for a year to donate blood. A man cannot give blood for the rest of his
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life if he has ever had sex with another man. This is because MSM are, as a group, at increased
risk for HIV, hepatitis B and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion
(FDA). All of the blood that is donated is screened and processed before being shipped to the
hospitals. After the blood has been tested it is no longer identified as a male or female’s blood, or
a young or old person. It also does not say whether or not the person who donated blood is a
homosexual, all they need to know is that the blood has been tested and has no diseases that
could be transferred during the transfusion. If all of the blood is being screened the doctors
screening the blood can see if the men’s blood is truly infected. There is no reason for men who
have had sex with men to not give blood if the blood is being screen properly.
Everyday someone is in need of a blood transfusion, letting gay men donate blood would
help this problem. Everyone who donates blood gets their blood tested for HIV and any other
sexually transmitted diseases for the safety of the person donating and the person that is
receiving that blood (FDA). You cannot judge a person’s sexual orientation by looking at them
or by their blood. Everyone is being affected by this situation for example; Aaron Pace tried
donating blood but got judged by his appearance. ‘Don’t judge a book by its cover’ people are
told this everyday yet when it comes to homosexuals, that is all they are seen as. They are seen
as a group of people who are at a higher risk for HIV which in turn makes them ineligible to
donate blood and help their community. Given that all blood is now tested for HIV, and that HIV
can be transmitted between heterosexuals, it seems utterly senseless to discriminate against gay
men who wish to donate blood (Sun-Times). It is wrong for a gay man to be denied donating
blood when they do not know if they are infected with HIV without testing the blood.
With many people who are in need of a blood and organ transfusion there is no reason
that MSM’s should not be able to donate. Men who have had sex with other men can donate
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organs after five years, but they cannot donate blood (Johnson 1). A gay man who had practiced
abstinence for five years prior to organ donation would be considered an acceptable donor
(Queerty 1). A heterosexual man who has had a single sexual encounter with a male within the
past five years would not be considered an acceptable donor (Queerty 1). The regulation for
organ donation contradicts the regulation for blood donation in a way that organs can be donated
after five years and blood donation is a life ban. It is ridiculous that it is believed organs can be
donated after five years and not blood; the bans must be lifted to ensure a fair and
nondiscriminatory system.
Racially African Americans are at the highest risk for contracting HIV. It would
definitely be wrong to ban all African Americans because of this fact; in the same aspect it is
wrong to ban homosexuals for the same
reason. It would be considered
discrimination if African Americans were
banned yet it is seen as okay to some
organizations to discriminate on
homosexuals who just want to help their
community and country. The graph to the
right shows different races based on who is most affected by HIV. It would be completely
inappropriate and considered discrimination to ban all African Americans for the fact that as a
race they are the most affected. Simply because homosexuals are at a higher risk for HIV does
not give a good enough reason to discriminate on them by saying they cannot donate blood.
The FDA refuses to let MSM’s donate blood because they believe that HIV is associated
with male-to-male contact. FDA's deferral policy is based on the documented increased risk of
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certain transfusion transmissible infections, such as HIV, associated with male-to-male sex and is
not based on any judgment concerning the donor's sexual orientation (U.S. Food and Drug
Administration 1). The FDA’s assumption is false because in reality it is associated with
unprotected sex in general and not with only male-to-male contact. The ban discriminating
against gay men and their right to donate blood was established in 1985 when there was a huge
outbreak of HIV. In recent years Red Cross and other organizations that collect blood have been
trying to throw out the ban on MSM’s from donating blood, the FDA is one of the only
organizations not willing to budge on the matter. The fact that this is one of the FDA’s biggest
argument proves that this ban is outdated and needs to be removed.
Some religious affiliations feel that it would be against their religion to allow
homosexuals to donate blood. ‘...Upholding traditional opposite-sex marriage, and further in
protecting the people from the devastating effects of same-sex
marriage’ (Letter to Supreme Court 7). The picture to the left
is from the Westboro Baptist Church, as a group they protest at
graduations and funerals against homosexuals. There has been
an outstanding idea in the United States that there is a
separation of church and state. Make no law respecting an
establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise
thereof; thus building a wall of eternal separation between Church & State (Jefferson 1). With
some of these extreme religious affiliations they seem to get in the way of the United States
progressing. With some of the groups like the Westboro Baptist homosexuals are criticized for
being themselves; and with these types of hate groups trying to stop progression in the country
nothing can move forward. With the separation of church and state that is often referred to these
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groups should be allowed to voice their opinion but not necessarily be the deciding factor on
these changes.
Something must be done to stop the discrimination against homosexual men and blood
donations. One thing that can be done is that there can be a one year deferral for all homosexual
men. The male must wait a year after having sex with a new partner before donating blood. This
will help with the one year window of false HIV testing. The "window period" exists very early
after infection, where even current HIV testing methods cannot detect all infections (FDA 1).
With this one year deferral it allows men who are in a committed relationship with the same man
for over a year to donate blood. With this deferral period it still allows for homosexual men to
donate blood while compromising with those who are worried about the higher risk of HIV.
A total of 30 million blood components are transfused each year in the U.S. In order to
get that much blood there should not be any discrimination on people that donate blood. In other
countries there may be a limitation on how long after a man has had sex with another man before
they can donate. Men who have sex with men have to wait five years to donate an organ. After
the donation is complete, the blood goes to a laboratory to be tested for anything that could harm
a person that would receive that blood. Racially, African Americans are most affected by HIV, it
would be wrong to ban all African Americans yet it is okay to ban homosexuals for the same
reason. The FDA’s biggest problem with lifting the ban is that HIV is associated with male-tomale contact; however there is more to it than that. The religious affiliations feel that it would be
against their religion to allow gay men to donate blood. One thing to help solve the problem is to
put a one year deferral on MSM’s after having male-to-male contact with a new partner. The ban
for blood donation from a MSM must be lifted throughout the United States.
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Works Cited
"Blood Donation - Information on the Gay Blood Donor Ban." About.com Gay Life. Web.
04 May 2014. <http://gaylife.about.com/od/stdsgeneralhealth/a/blooddonation.htm>.
"Blood Facts and Statistics." American Red Cross. Web. 02 May 2014.
<http://www.redcrossblood.org/learn-about-blood/blood-facts-and-statistics>.
"Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury BaptistsThe Draft and Recently Discovered Text."
Jefferson's Letter to the Danbury Baptists (June 1998). Web. 08 May 2014.
<http://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9806/danpost.html>.
"Man’s Donated Organs Rejected Because He Was Gay." Queerty. Web. 04 May 2014.
<http://www.queerty.com/gay-mans-donated-organs-rejected-20130412/>.
"Letter to the Supreme Court." The Supreme Court. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
<http://godhatesfags.com/briefs/20120125_fag-marriage-amicus-brief-12-144.pdf>.
"Search Results for "Discriminatory Donor Policies Substitute Stereotypes for Science""
American Progress Search Comments. Web. 04 May 2014.
<http://www.americanprogress.org/search/?query=Discriminatory Donor Policies
Substitute Stereotypes for Science>.
"Straight Man Who 'Appears to Be' Gay Rejected by Blood Center." Gawker. Web. 04
May 2014. <http://gawker.com/5821929/straight-man-who-appears-to-be-gay-couldntdonate-blood>.
"U.S. Food and Drug Administration." Blood Donations from Men Who Have Sex with
Other Men Questions and Answers. Web. 04 May 2014.
<http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/bloodbloodproducts/questionsaboutblood/uc
m108186.htm>.
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"USA HIV & AIDS Statistics." HIV and AIDS Information and Resources. Web. 04 May 2014.
<http://www.avert.org/usa-hiv-aids-statistics.htm>.
"WBC Photos." God Hates Fags. Westboro Baptist Church, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014.
<http://godhatesfags.com/photos/normal_pfume_dpff_aid_usad_Shirl4.jpg>.