Denver Post 9/16 Should Homosexual Males Donate Blood?

Currently the Feds will not let homosexual males donate blood. Is it time to repeal this old rule from the AIDS era?
Or is is more important that the public believe everything possible is being done to keep our blood supply safe?

I would like the see the current numbers on what percentage of gay males have HIV/AIDS compared to the general population before they repeal this rule. It does suck to be denied.

FredHayek wrote: It does suck to be denied.

Yikes! I thought you were married?

to a woman?

I wasn't denied but my wife was, (she has an autoimmune disorder and wanted to donate for a friend with blood cancer.)

FredHayek wrote: I wasn't denied but my wife was, (she has an autoimmune disorder and wanted to donate for a friend with blood cancer.)

Its a shame she couldnt give her friend an autoimmune disorder?

Can you transfer MS or Lupus through blood or sex? It doesn't appear to be so, but they would rather be careful.

FredHayek wrote: Can you transfer MS or Lupus through blood?

I'm no expert on Auto immune disorders, but i'd say emphatically yes..

There's enough blood testing technology that I have no issues with a homosexual individual donating.

bailey bud wrote: There's enough blood testing technology that I have no issues with a homosexual individual donating.

Whatever trips your trigger, Buddy!

Isn't the HIV test accurate enough to identify all HIV positive blood donors?

HIV tests currently in use are highly accurate, but still cannot detect HIV 100% of the time. It is estimated that the HIV risk from a unit of blood has been reduced to about 1 per 2 million in the USA, almost exclusively from so called "window period" donations. The "window period" exists very early after infection, where even current HIV testing methods cannot detect all infections. During this time, a person is infected with HIV, but may not have enough virus or have developed sufficient antibodies to be detected by available tests. For this reason, a person could test negative, even when they are actually HIV positive and infectious. Therefore, blood donors are not only tested but are also asked questions about behaviors that increase their risk of HIV infection.

Collection of blood from persons with an increased risk of HIV infection also presents an added risk to transfusion recipients due to the possibility that blood that has already been collected and is being stored in a blood bank may be accidentally given to a patient in error either before testing is completed or following a positive test. Such medical errors occur extremely rarely, but given that there are about 17 million Whole Blood and red blood cell donations collected each year in the USA, they can occur.

http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccin ... 108186.htm

The problem is that I think i'm probably the only guy I know here at MMT that hasn't had some kinda gay experiences-

There are so many closet queers out there

Big Dougy wrote: The problem is that I think i'm probably the only guy I know here at MMT that hasn't had some kinda gay experiences-

There are so many closet queers out there

Isn't Dig Dougy a gay porn star? You better change your name before you get your candy ass sued!