For many citizens, donating blood is as simple as filling out paperwork, waiting in line, and rolling up their sleeve. Gay men, on the other hand, are deprived of this opportunity. The United States government has placed a ban on gay men donating blood. The reasoning behind this ban is the claim that gay men hold a high risk of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Fortunately for gay men, diseases don’t have a sexual orientation. Unfortunately for gay men, they are being discriminated against because of a law not based in science that is prohibiting them from donating to the nation’s blood supply. It is time for the government to open its eyes and remove the ban against gay men donating blood.
Some believe that allowing gay men to donate blood would allow diseases such as HIV/AIDS to get into the blood supply, but heterosexuals spread HIV/AIDS just as homosexuals do. In an article written Dr. Alan Cantwell, he firmly states that “When the AIDS epidemic began officially in June 1981, it was widely considered exclusively a "gay disease." Now everyone should know that AIDS is a worldwide epidemic; and most AIDS cases are heterosexual, not homosexual” (Cantwell 5). Dr. Cantwell eliminates the opposing argument that gay men should not donate blood because it puts the blood at higher risk for infections and diseases, such as AIDS. It is an old-fashioned and uneducated idea that AIDS is a “gay” disease. AIDS is a virus, not a disease. Dr. Cantwell also states that “For two decades AIDS scientists and educators have tried to convince people (particularly homophobes) that AIDS is not a gay disease. Now the Center is turning back the clock 25 years to the time when most people were convinced that gay sex, sodomy, drugs and poppers were "the cause" of AIDS” (Cantwell 8). In summary, Dr. Cantwell is expressing the difficulty it is for government officials to look past the preconceived notions they have about AIDS and to look at the facts of AIDS today. The FDA placed this ban in the 1980’s whenever the virus had just turned into an epidemic. Out of panic and without the knowledge and facts we know today about the virus, the government buckled down on safety and placed the ban on gay men to donate blood. The current ban holds no scientific evidence.
Not only does the ban hold no scientific evidence, but is also prejudice. According to The New York Times, “The F.D.A. has said that its policy toward gay men is not discriminatory but rather based on statistics” (Mroz 2). What the F.D.A. isn’t exactly up to date with is in fact the statistics. As stated previously, the statistics of heterosexuals spreading AIDS is very high; it is not just homosexuals spreading AIDS. There is no legitimate scientific evidence supporting the ban. The ban is certainly considered to be discriminatory. There are many gay men who should have the opportunity and be able to donate to the country that they pay taxes for. A couple ideas that are interesting to point out is that according to the F.D.A., if you have paid a heterosexual prostitute for sex, then you cannot donate blood until one year after it happened. Another guideline placed by the F.D.A is that if you have had heterosexual sex with someone that is infected with HIV, you cannot donate blood for a year as well. Why is it that if one man had homosexual sex (protected at that), up to 33 years ago, even once, is banned for life? The ban simply is not justified. This is discrimination at its finest.
One of the negative consequences coming from the discriminatory ban against gay men donating blood is that many healthy donors are being denied for donation. If the ban was uplifted then the nation could positively benefit from the increase in blood supply. Every day, Americans are in desperate need of a blood donor. What if the government decided to ban all African American from donating blood since a high percentage of African American’s have HIV/AIDS? Hopefully, our nation wouldn’t resort to this, but it shows the level of absurdity that the ban against gay men is on. When interviewing a representative from the American Red Cross, she stated that, "We believe in diversity and neutrality... Red Cross does object to the ban on gay men donating blood." If even major organizations that are highly respectable are against the ban, which is a huge reason why the ban should be removed.
As the United States has gained more knowledge of gay men being able to donate blood, the ban should be uplifted. The ban being placed against gay men is not only unsupported from science, but discriminatory. The F.D.A. needs to realize that their ban is outdated and should be revised immediately
Works Cited
Abrams, Jim. "Senators: Lift Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood - Health - Health Care - More Health News - Msnbc.com." Breaking News, Weather, Business, Health, Entertainment, Sports, Politics, Travel, Science, Technology, Local, US & World News- Msnbc.com. 4 Mar. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.
Cantwell, Alan. "Homophobic Homosexuals: Making AIDS 'A Gay Disease'" Jeff Rense Program. 29 Sept. 2006. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.
Mroz, Jaqueline. "Gay Men Condemn Blood Ban as Biased." The New York Times, 2 Aug. 2010. Web. 28 Nov. 2010.
