Gay Donors!

[javvcr]

Hi!

I'll like to ask u all: What kind of deferral do u performe for male blood donors that manifest have had sex with other males!

Do u deferal for 12 month since the last "sexual unsave event" or u just do a permanent deferal of them?

Many *** people have been fighting for their rights and they say, if any of them have a stable relation and save sex, they can be a blood donor!

what do u think?

what do u do at ur blood banks?

tnx!

[Cliff]

I think all happy people should be allowed to donate.

I think what country you are responding from, and what standards you are governed by will dictate the minimum deferral type.

We are accredited by aaBB and defer permanently.

[donellda]

That was my first thought that all donors should be happy!

[javvcr]

In our country, we use to deferral permanently male who have had sex with other males!

but this has been cause of a very interesting discution 'cos here the *** movement is so strong, and they want to change this policy, 'cos they feel its discriminatory for them!

tnx

[donellda]

It sounds like a difficult issue however, the risk is still a great one. I don't know how you can get around it and still maintain a safe blood supply.

[javvcr]

Yeah!

i think its kinda difficult but i guess our criteria of permanent deferral should prevail.

It just a in vouge issue in our country from people out of the medical area, so medical criteria should be follow.

any way, in countries like Spain and Japan, MSM have a 12 month deferral and are accepted like donors!!!!!!

Have u heard something about it?

[rcurrie]

First, no one has a RIGHT to donate blood. It is a privilege that is granted when all criteria are met, just as the privilege to drive is granted when you have met the criteria for a drivers license. Do we discriminate when we do not allow blind people to obtain a drivers license? You bet your sweet bippy we do.

Second, we are AABB and do not allow MSM (men who have had sex with another man) to donate because MSM do not meet the criteria for donating blood. We defer them indefinitely.

Third, there are studies that show that the MSM population is still at increased risk for HIV, much greater than the rest of the population, so the deferral is still valid. Don't ask me for links to those studies- I don't have them. If you do a diligent search, however, you will find them.

Fourth, *** persons are not deferred per se- only those men who have had sex with another male are deferred. Some of those men are bisexual. That is why women who have had sex with a male who has sex with another male is also deferred, although it is for 12 months only. Why the difference? I don't know and don't care. I just follow the guidelines. I have no desire to circumvent policy or to change it. I just don't have the time to put into the research. That's what it is going to take- someone is going to have to prove that the MSM is just as safe as anyone else. It hasn't happened yet.

Fifth, there is nothing wrong with discrimination per se, as long as the discrimination is reasonable. Gays are not a protected class under the Constitution of the United States. Even if they were, it is the sexual act between two men that is the reason for the deferral, not the sexual orientation of the person. You can be *** and still donate blood as long as you are not a male who has had sex with another male.

Finally, I just had to notify a donor who lied about being an MSM that he was confirmed HIV positive. How do I know he lied? He said so when he came in for his counseling.

BC

[MJDrew]

Finally, I just had to notify a donor who lied about being an MSM that he was confirmed HIV positive. How do I know he lied? He said so when he came in for his counseling.

BC

Well, that brings me back to the delightful counseling session I had many moons ago with a woman (formerly man) in the midst of a sex change, who didn't feel she was at risk because her multiple M?SM contacts were "heterosexual" ones. HIV positive, direct donating blood for her monther's surgery!

Given that, you would think I would be one who would favor retaining permanent deferral of MSM, but I don't. It has nothing to do with social policy or discrimination. NAT has cut the window period for HIV infection to a week or so. We defer women having sex with MSM or other high-risk males for a year. Why not defer MSM for a year? The current permanent deferral for MSM is inconsistent. If we codified a year deferral for MSM, many would still not qualify.

BUT--for reasons that have nothing to do with logic or science, this ain't gonna happen in the US. Just my opinion.

MJ :cool:

[rcurrie]

Oh, the stories we could tell! I have a male nurse who was in a homosexual relationship for years who converted (so he says) to being strictly heterosexual. He is on a unit that transfuses dozens of units of blood a day. He reminds me almost daily that the unit of blood he is picking up for transfusion could be his own donation if he were allowed to donate ("This one could have been mine!")

My biggest beef (pun intended) with illogical deferrals is the one for CJD risk. My donor base includes the largest military base in the U.S. We defer about 400 donors a year due to military travel ("You mean I can't donate blood just because I MAY have eaten a hamburger on base in Germany?!")

What about the new T. cruzi test? What are we going to tell donors who test positive? Uh, how's your colon doing? How big is your heart? Mind if we take a biopsy? Have you checked your home for Triatoma bugs?

BC

[OPUS104]

MSM since 1977 = perm

female sex with MSM = 12 month def.

Since no test (NAT included) is perfect, why use a "known" risk source?

Why not use current needle drug users also if using this logic?

Maybe not the right forum for this discussion.

[Mabel Adams]

If you are in the USA, the rules above may not apply. It is essential to be honest with the blood center, even when it is sad that you can't continue to donate. Maybe someday the US rules will be changed also.

[galvania]

Want to hear another one about vCJD? I can't donate either - I was born and bred in the UK. BUT I'm a vegetarian!! So I'm sure I never ate any beefburgers!!

[rcurrie]

I sent an email to the FDA, and the reply is a firm "No" to allowing anyone to donate who has had sex with another male since 1977, regardless of the circumstances. In addition, the FDA gave me this link to explain their policy:

http://www.fda.gov/cber/faq/msmdonor.htm

I went to a seminar by Michael Bush on TTVs (transfusion transmitted viruses), and it was quite interesting. It seems that any virus that is transmitted during the window period is quite virulent compared to a virus that has been weakened by patient antibodies. Even though we have shortened the window period considerably, it is that period during which the virus is most likely to infect the recipient.

BC