AMA Opposes Ban on Gay Blood

photo courtesy of codingnews.com

I’ve given blood all my life.  I started in high school, continued in college.  When I started working in a hospital, we had frequent blood drives and I always signed up.  Then I came out of the closet, and that changed.  It didn’t matter that my husband and I are monogamous.  It didn’t matter that he and I are both HIV negative and have not had other sexual partners.  Because we are gay we cannot give.  The policy states that any man who. “…has had sex with another man even once since 1977 cannot give blood.”

Really?  How about a man who sleeps with 4-5 women a week?  I know several.  How about the college kid who favors hook-ups over an LTR? According to my daughter, this is common.  Why is it that based on my sexual orientation and NOT my sexual behavior, I’m banned from giving blood?

This might be changing.  This past Tuesday, the American Medical Association voted to oppose the FDA’s ban.  According to an article on ABC News’ website, the AMA issued the following statement:

“The lifetime ban on blood donation for men who have sex with men is discriminatory and not based on sound science. This new policy urges a federal policy change to ensure blood donation bans or deferrals are applied to donors according to their individual level of risk and are not based on sexual orientation alone.”

The organization has suggested the policy be changed to include men who have abstained from sex with another man for a certain period.  This would follow policies in other countries such as Canada and the UK.   Although not perfect (and still excluding monogamous gay couples) it is a step in the right direction.

The policy change is also supported by The Red Cross, America’s Blood Centers and AABB (a non-profit support blood therapies).