The Gay Blood Ban: Is It Really Necessary?Essay Preview: The Gay Blood Ban: Is It Really Necessary?Report this essayThe Gay Blood Ban: Is it Really Necessary?IntroductionFor this paper, I attended a Lunch-n-Learn seminar entitled “Be Negative: A Program on HIV/AIDS” held at KSU on February 3, 2004. During the presentation, the speaker revealed that, as a gay man, he is forever prohibited from donating blood. As such, I have chosen to develop a plan of action that will assist in lifting the gay blood ban.
After some research, I learned that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is the organization responsible for making the laws that prohibit gay men from donating blood. In fact, the law states that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once, is banned from giving blood. Ironically, a heterosexual man can have unprotected anal sex with a female prostitute, and then donate blood twelve months later. However, a gay man in a monogamous relationship who practices safe sex is forever banned from donating his blood.
The FDAs policy first originated in the mid-1980s, when the HIV and AIDS viruses were still new and testing methods could not be relied upon. During this period, tens of thousands of people became infected with HIV as a result of contaminated blood transfusions, and so it was reasonable for gay men to be excluded from blood donation. However, due to major advancements in HIV testing in the past twenty years, there is now very little risk of HIV-infected blood getting into the nations blood supply. We have much more advanced methods of testing that can detect the presence of HIV or AIDS early on, and HIV infection from blood donations today are extremely rare. In fact, blood is checked and rechecked for HIV three (3) times. Therefore, there is no longer a valid reason for excluding gay men from blood donation. This debate has become so controversial, that many universities now prohibit the Red Cross from organizing blood drives on their campuses due to discrimination issues.
Frequently Asked Questions About Clinically Cured Fentanyl
Q: Why are medical marijuana dispensaries now illegal in the US?
A: While legal for medical purposes, the medical marijuana dispensaries that I mentioned in last week’s post no longer require your permission, and thus cannot bring you products that are legally legal, but also that are used for medical purposes to treat certain diseases. Thus we do not offer any of this drug as a medicine that can be used as an herbal/weed remedy. This is because you do not want to bring drugs like marijuana into a federally-regulated medical cannabis operation, and that is only because our cannabis products are legal for use under federal law.
Q: Do you recommend using cannabis to control your heart, thyroid, or lower blood pressure?
A: We encourage you to try the medicine and see a doctor for any complications that could occur due to this medicine.
Q: Do you offer cannabis supplements, including some form of ganja or tincture, or anything that may reduce the risk to your heart?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you recommend smoking marijuana or other products, either organic, as a way to treat any illness from your condition, or for research purposes or research as part of an HIV/AIDS program?
A: While we do not offer any medicinal products, we do offer a number of herbal and herbal products and they are available at an affordable prices.
Medical Marijuana Dispensary in Maryland and other States
Many states still allow the use of marijuana in a controlled and legal manner. There are several different states that allow it in their jurisdictions. For instance, Colorado and Washington both allow it with the exception that some states have laws concerning the medical use of marijuana. Other states have laws that specifically give you the right to possess up to six ounces of marijuana for your medical use.
Federal Laws
Q: Which states do you consider to be medical marijuana states in the US, and which do not?
A: While there are many states with some restrictions as to medical marijuana usage (like Missouri laws that require for “substantial medical use of medical marijuana”), some states that are more stringent as to the extent of the restrictions are more common. In North Carolina, the medical use of marijuana is considered only for medical purposes, not medicinal use. California also may need to take additional steps to treat this medical use, while Minnesota already has a similar “medical marijuana law” where you can possess up to one ounce in total for your medicinal use. New York state has been implementing a law allowing for greater control over the use of medical marijuana for medical purposes in New York County. The law allows for the general cultivation, possession and use of medical cannabis in all other jurisdictions to continue.
Plan of ActionAccording to the FDAs website, any individual or consumer group can legally petition the FDAs policies and/or participate in the rule-making process by submitting written comments on proposed rules and policies. The FDA alleges that they carefully review and consider public input before making a final decision on a rule. Therefore, petitioning the FDA, and providing them with supporting evidence of why gay men should be allowed to donate blood, would be a good start in getting the ban lifted.
Moreover, the petition should include a proposal suggesting that the FDA change its policy to exclude both homosexuals and heterosexuals who have had unprotected sex with someone other than a spouse or long-term partner in the past 12 months. The Red Cross is required by the FDA to give prospective donors a questionnaire asking them a multitude of personal questions, such as whether the individual has engaged in prostitution, whether the individual is an IV drug user, and, if the individual is a man, whether he has had sex with another man since 1977. However, the Red Cross should be allowed to modify the language in some of these questions so that gay men are not primarily discriminated against. For example, instead of asking whether a man has had sex with another man since 1977, the questionnaire should ask whether he has had unprotected sex within the last 12 months with someone other than a spouse or long-term partner. Additionally, it should ask whether there is a chance that the prospective donors partner may have engaged in unprotected sex outside of the relationship. Surprisingly, the questionnaire does not ask any questions regarding unprotected sex.
In addition to petitioning the FDA, I believe that a major gay rights organization, such as the Human Rights Campaign, should come together to lobby the FDA in order to persuade them to change their policy with regard to the gay blood ban. (Lobbying is any attempt by a group or individual to influence the decisions of government.)
Why This Policy is NeededA change in the FDAs current policy is needed because there are frequent blood shortages in the United States, and the increased blood supply would save more lives. In fact, according to the FDAs own scientists, if the rules were changed to permit gay men to donate blood, it could increase the blood supply by over 140,000 units annually. (Datz-Greenberg & Stewart-Winter, 2000). The FDAs current policy is unnecessarily exacerbating the nations blood shortages.
Furthermore, this course of action is needed because the FDAs current policy is clearly discriminatory. Homosexuality is being put in the same category as prostitution and IV drug use. Many heterosexuals engage in risky behavior, however, no attempt is made to weed them out. Also, gay rights groups have protested that the gay blood ban differs from bans placed on other high-risk donors, such as men who engage in sexual activity with prostitutes. (Richwine, 2000). Blood banks have urged the FDA to enforce a one (1) year gay ban instead of the current lifetime ban, so that