Gay groups stepping up demands to be allowed to donate blood

[LadyGunSlinger]

Who gives a shit what they demand when it comes to public safety??

 

[Lonestar_logic]

Next intravenous drug users will want to be allowed to donate blood.

 

[novasteve]

I give a shit because libs win everything they demand and our safety will be at risk so some lib poo pusher gets a feel good moment

 

[LadyGunSlinger]

I give a shit because libs win everything they demand and our safety will be at risk so some lib poo pusher gets a feel good moment

What I meant was no one should give a crap about what the gay lobby demands when it comes to the Public's safety.. SCREW THEM.. They can whine, kick, scream.. all they like.

 

[AmyNation]

The Red Cross is the one pushing for gay men to be allowed to donate.

 

[tjvh]

I'm sorry, all political correctness aside, high risk groups should not be allowed to donate blood. This is about common sense, not PC.

 

[AmyNation]

If I've had malaria, I can still donate blood.

 

[AmyNation]

If I admit to having sex with a prostitute, I don't earn a lifetime ban.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

There is no reason to deny a gay man the right to donate blood if he is using contraception and is not sleeping around.

No gay man on this planet uses contraception because they have zero risk of getting pregnant.

Gay men will use contraception when they have sex.

Contraception is used to prevent pregnancy, men do not get pregnant.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

There is no reason to deny a gay man the right to donate blood if he is using contraception and is not sleeping around.

No gay man on this planet uses contraception because they have zero risk of getting pregnant.

They should still use condoms because of STD's.

I believe most of them do. They also use dental dams.

 

[Missourian]

To me this seems like a measure implemented not to discriminate against homosexual men, but to protect the public.

Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM)a represent approximately 2% of the US population, yet are the population most severely affected by HIV. In 2010, MSM accounted for 63% of all new HIV infections, and MSM with a history of injection drug use (MSM-IDU) accounted for an additional 3% of new infections. That same year, young MSM (aged 13-24 years) accounted for 72% of new HIV infections among all persons aged 13 to 24, and 30% of new infections among all MSM. At the end of 2010, an estimated 489,121 (56%) persons living with an HIV diagnosis in the United States were MSM or MSM-IDU.

CDC ? Fact Sheet - Gay and Bisexual Men ? Gender ? Risk ? HIV/AIDS

Political correctness should not overrule the fact that gay men are the highest risk to the blood pool. Reducing that risk is a logical decision.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

The Red Cross is the one pushing for gay men to be allowed to donate.

They are pushing the entire process of donating blood because they have a monopoly on it. If they actually cared about public health they would be pushing artificial blood and other techniques that are demonstrably safer.

 

[Quantum Windbag]

If I've had malaria, I can still donate blood.

If I admit to having sex with a prostitute, I don't earn a lifetime ban.

If you lived in the UK for six months between 1980 and 1986 you have a lifetime ban on giving blood. Should people like that be allowed to donate, or should we continue to discriminate against them based on nothing more than geography?

 

[AmyNation]

If I've had malaria, I can still donate blood.

If I admit to having sex with a prostitute, I don't earn a lifetime ban.

If you lived in the UK for six months between 1980 and 1986 you have a lifetime ban on giving blood. Should people like that be allowed to donate, or should we continue to discriminate against them based on nothing more than geography?

Who is barred from donating blood, and for how long should be based on science and health risks, nothing else.

I have not read enough about mad cow disease to have an opinion on the Uk ban. However, I have read plenty on testing for HIV and the risk factors in donating blood.

There is no reason we can't update our policies to reflect today's testing methods, we can adopt the same policies that the UK, Australia and others have when it comes to gay men donating.

 

[AmyNation]

Btw, I never said the ban on gay men was discriminatory. It is antiquated and outdated. It made perfect sense when we knew next to nothing about AIDS and did not have the tools to properly test blood. However, policy should change when the science changes.

 

[Aristotle]

Why are folks here worried about gays donating? You guys do realize a gay person can lie and say they have never had intercourse with a person of the same gender anyway so either way you dont know who your getting blood from.

I say let homosexuals donate. If you guys are so worried about HIV why arent you guys worried about herpes which upon contraction Herpes simplex 2 can lie dormant in a persons blood. I am sure risk is low but its just a theory.

 

[High_Gravity]

Herpes doesn't kill you.

 

[Aristotle]

Herpes doesn't kill you.

Neither does HIV

 

[High_Gravity]

Herpes doesn't kill you.

Neither does HIV

Not always but it can lead to AIDS and that will kill you.

 

[Noomi]

Herpes doesn't kill you.

Neither does HIV

Not always but it can lead to AIDS and that will kill you.

Nowadays, with medication, it can be a good decade or more before you get full blown Aids.