By Trevor Verbiest
Staff Writer
Last month, the American Red Cross declared one of the worst national blood crises in decades, caused mainly by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as generous donors flock to blood drives, a particular group of them will not have the altruistic efforts accepted.
Before donating blood, possible donors must take a survey asking questions regarding their personal habits and sexual history. One question targets a certain community of people, namely gay and bisexual men. According to current FDA policy, men who have had sexual intercourse with another man within the past three months may not donate blood, regardless of if they have used protection or taken an STD test.
If male donors mark that this statement applies to them, they are not-eligible to donate blood. Additionally, transgender men who have had sexual intercourse with other men within the past three months are also prohibited from donating. These guidelines are highly discriminatory toward men in the LGBTQ+ community and must be revised.
Although gay and bisexual men used to be entirely prohibited from donating, the law is still unjustified and fuels the long-held theory that all gay and bisexual men have HIV/AIDS. For a long time, it was believed that only gay men could contract the virus. The stigma from this inaccurate theory clearly still remains in certain aspects. Even a woman who has had unprotected sex with multiple heterosexual male partners over the same time frame with no knowledge of their personal histories remains in the donor pool. This policy is homophobic and outdated and needs to be changed.
Because of the current blood crisis, all healthy people should have the opportunity to donate. This policy regarding a gay or bisexual man’s donation is counteractive and perpetuates stigma. In recent years, treatments have been created to prevent someone from contracting the virus from someone else who has it, namely the medication Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), according to the CDC. Similarly, in the past few decades, there has been much more emphasis on verbal consent, using protection, and other safe sex practices in efforts to prevent the spread of STD’s, according to Planned Parenthood.
Every single unit of blood donated during a blood drive is tested for the possible presence of HIV, hepatitis, syphilis and other blood borne diseases after it is given, according to the CDC. This policy is incredibly discriminatory toward queer men if the blood is always going to be tested afterward. According to the UK Health Security Agency, new case reports of HIV in heterosexuals have currently surpassed diagnoses rates in homosexuals. With this evidence, the law is even more illogical, proving that at the very least heterosexual donors should equally face a deferral period.
However, according to the CDC, it takes up to 90 days for HIV to show up on a blood test, showing the partial cause of the three month deferral. Yet, if a male is well aware of the partner’s sexual history, or has simply been dating or married to another man for an extended period, this rule is illogical and pointless. It is true that men who have sexual intercourse with other men have a higher chance of spreading HIV. However, this statement only applies to those who are already infected with the virus, saying nothing about one’s sexual habits.
The United States should follow Canada in banning this policy, instead of screening potential blood donors based on their sexuality or gender, screen them for higher risk sexual behaviors and abolish this outdated, discriminatory policy.
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