Posted on 04/09/2020 12:01:09 PM PDT by rebuildus
Last Thursday, the FDA relaxed some of its guidelines, which had previously restricted gay and bisexual men from giving blood.
These new rules allow blood donations from men who say that they have abstained from sex with another man for more than three months. For the past several years, gay and bisexual men could not donate blood if they’d had sex with a man in the previous year.
The earlier one-year waiting period was attacked as discriminatory and outdated when the FDA introduced it in 2015 to replace a lifetime prohibition on blood donation by gay and bisexual men.
The lifetime ban was enacted in 1983, early in the AIDS epidemic. The FDA reexamined the ban over the years but had said the restriction was necessary to keep the blood supply safe and untainted by HIV.
A group of sixteen Democrat senators including Sen. Bernie Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren had sent a letter to the FDA, urging the change in policy. The gay population is a part of the base they’ve been cultivating for decades.
This is after GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) launched a petition to relax these guidelines, reportedly getting over 20,000 signatures.
The FDA’s move came as thousands of blood drives nationwide were reportedly being canceled along with closures of schools, churches and other institutions. It is likely that many potential blood donors have avoided giving because of social distancing guidelines.
So there’s the pretext for making the policy change, and it’s certainly understandable. The FDA claims the change is perfectly safe; but is it really? Or are they just bowing to political and social pressure during a crisis?
In this time where the press and politicians like to accuse officials of having “blood on their hands,” with all due respect, I must ask if the FDA would not be responsible if HIV or other associated diseases are passed to blood recipients from gay or bisexual men who give blood under their new guidelines.
Let me make clear that I am in support of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. I believe, on balance, the President and his team are doing a tremendous job. I don’t doubt the FDA is doing a great job too.
But this decision sticks out like a bloody thumb.
The White House is holding daily press briefings during this crisis, and again, I applaud their tenacity and dedication. But I have not heard any great call-out for the American People to go and give blood during this crisis. I know they would respond if called to do so.
This would render the FDA’s relaxation of its blood donation guidelines for gay and bisexual men unnecessary.
Politics Over Lives? Democrat senators who signed the letter urging a loosening of the FDA guidelines said that the coronavirus outbreak provided an opportunity to revisit policies made at the height of the HIV / AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Never let a good crisis go to waste, right?
The new policies shorten the blood donation deferral from twelve months to just three months. In other words, if a homosexual (gay) or bisexual man can just state that he has not had sex with another man for ninety days, then barring any other disqualifying factor, he can give blood.
Of course, there is nothing to prevent a gay or bisexual man from saying he has not had sex with a man for a year either, so what difference does the new policy make?
Fair question.
Gay and bisexual men are much more likely to carry the HIV virus and associated diseases than the general population. That’s the starting point.
Gay and bisexual men comprise up to 70% of the new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. and dependent areas. And they may have contracted the HIV virus but not be detected in an HIV test! Because the virus has an incubation period. And the HIV test looks for antibodies which an infected person does not always produce.
Here is an informative article I found from 2016 (from the National Catholic Register) that states exactly why the original policy barring gay and bisexual men was necessary.
The “window” period for an HIV test is reportedly up to three months, so what if a gay or bisexual man goes to give blood, saying he has not had sex with a man for three months (which the new policy allows), but if he actually did have sex within that time frame the HIV test may not catch it! That is an unacceptably dangerous risk.
It is much safer to let gay and bisexual men know that they should not give blood—period—as they are in a high-risk group for contracting and passing on HIV. Any gay or bisexual man with concern for their fellow citizens would understand that.
What is the alternative? That we allow gay and bisexual men to potentially lie about the length of time they’ve abstained from sex, and a blood recipient possibly dies as a result?
Are we going to pretend that in the desire to give blood, people (no matter their sexual preferences) never lie about their behavior or possible risk factors? That’s awfully naive.
Pressure and Politics Why would we risk the health and lives of people who desperately need blood transfusions? They are already possibly at greater risk of contracting a virus because of a compromised immune system.
There is no “right” to give blood! Many people in different risk categories are restricted.
Why are we treating gay and bisexual males differently? I think you know the reason… pressure and politics.
It’s interesting to note that I could not find any major articles challenging the FDA’s decision to loosen its regulations regarding gay and bisexual men giving blood. Are the search engines blocking these articles, or are journalists simply afraid to ask questions, knowing they’ll likely be labeled as a “homophobe” and possibly threatened in one form or another?
Certainly, I’m not the only person who’s horrified by the potential deaths this new policy could cause.
It Will Take Concern and Courage How long will the American People allow themselves to be pressured into keeping their mouths shut? Will it take the death of a loved one due to an HIV-infected person giving blood when they should have abstained?
I can only conclude that this demonstrates cowardice. Too many people think only of themselves, and not of the health and wellbeing of their fellow man and woman. We must find our love for humanity again, or we will fall one way or another.
One silver lining I see in this horrible cloud of coronavirus: I do see we are beginning to ask simple questions of those in power. I used to see these bumper stickers—”Question Authority!” The stickers typically appeared on the back of cars owned by liberals. But how about questioning authorities, no matter if those authorities are government officials, religious authorities or gay pressure groups?
I say, “Let’s question again,” especially when the health and lives of our fellow citizens are on the line. That’s the right thing to do.
If you agree with me and see that the FDA relaxing its blood-donation guidelines for gay and bisexual men is potentially dangerous and wrong, then I urge you to contact the FDA.
And please contact the White House as well. I believe that if President Trump really considered the potential danger in this new policy, which really just worsens a misguided idea, he would reconsider what his FDA is doing.
For the reasons stated above, I do not believe that gay and bisexual men should be giving blood at all, and certainly not within a short window period of having sex with another man.
I believe that any gay or bisexual man who cares about the wellbeing of his neighbor would want to do all he can do to ensure their safety. We should all think that way. Let’s—at minimum—look out for our neighbor; so that he or she can simply live.
To your health and fitness…
Patrick Rooney is the Founder of OldSchoolUs.com. Its focus is natural health and independent living. Patrick is the author of GREEK PHYSIQUE: The Simple, Satisfying Way to Sculpt Your Body—Even if You’re Old, Weak, or Broken Down; and is also the creator of Greek Yoga™ and the Greek Yoga for Beginners video. He offers health and fitness consulting in-person in Middle Tennessee and worldwide via phone and web conference. To reach Patrick, email him at info@oldschoolus.com.
in principle I agree with you, but the truth is the old system was based on people self-identifying as gay. Nothing really changed here, those who want to give will just not have to lie now.
THEY WANT TO DO THIS AGAIN!! PANIC!! Gays should NOT be giving BLOOD! STUPID!
“The earlier one-year waiting period was attacked as discriminatory and outdated when the FDA introduced it in 2015 to replace a lifetime prohibition on blood donation by gay and bisexual men.”
That decision was made in 2015 back when Obama was in the White House. We cannot turn back the clock and change the consequences of actions taken five years ago.
Doesn’t answer your question, but our Blood Bank locally has warned repeatedly that there is a growing blood shortage because they can’t get people to come in and donate blood any more.
Liberals behave like a burglar who gains access to a secure building by waiting for someone to exit and conveniently holding the door open for them and helping with their groceries.
And... HIV infection rates now go beyond the gay community.
I’m not advocating but I think the reason is that they want to be able to harvest plasma from people who have the COVID antibody. Plus, by being on house arrest, people can’t donate blood as normal but car crashes and a surgeries still happen.
Same FDA that keeps “adjusting” its apocalyptic Wu Fly virus model down - and down again - and down again.
Notwithstanding the many brilliant MDs and PhDs contained with, as a gubmit bureaucracy, it is by design just plain inefficient and prone to about a 50% success rate at best.
Tell you what, FDA, all that blood will be kept in a special place for use by YOU AND YOUR EMPLOYEES ONLY. Put that into your suggestions and smoke it.
3 months? Is that how long it takes for AIDS to go away? /s
America’s vast, permanent, well-funded government bureaucracy is filled with ideologues, with their preferred political and policy agendas.
Because the people and structures are permanent, the agendas are permanent.
Its why we should not have term limits for politicians, but must absolutely have term-limits for unelected bureaucrats and especially government programs.
Maybe they thould athk the reporterth and produthers in the media?
Because the FDA is filled with Lefty Trump h8ters?
So they can kill more people?
Because the PTB want us dead, that’s why.
First we need to understand, the term blood “donor” is really a misnomer. Blood banks usually pay a nominal sum.
Gay & bisexuals— and promiscuous straights, and intravenous drug users as well— are more likely to be carriers not only of HIV, but also hepatitis, c-diff, & a whole bunch of scary-ass pathogens.
These hedonists also tend to be concentrated among the homeless and lower socio-economic strata who regularly need the quick cash from selling blood or plasma.
Hence, refusing them their “right” to earn this cash “discriminates” against these marginalized minority groups.
Shame on us.
Because people working there either support normalizing f@ggotry, or because they are being pressured by powerful people who support normalizing f@ggotry.
The minuscule and most disease ridden 1.8% of the population that is homosexual will not greatly impact this, even if every single sick disease infested pervert decides to donate blood.
This is completely political, and nothing else. This is about normalizing f@ggotry.
Do away with some useless study like the mating habits of some endangered slug and start paying people $20 to $40 per donation and the shortage would end overnight. Or have that fee paid by insurance companies that i have no doubt charge a patient more than $20-$40 per bag of blood during surgery and again, problem solved. Even institute a policy that to donate you have to have a cert once per year of a clean blood test result signed by a doctor. The meth heads and other junkies that show up looking like death warmed over, kick them out and put up a sign that we reserve the right to refuse service to anyone. As much money that is pissed down the drain by the federal and state governments, spending it on something as critical as blood seems like a far better idea of where to put funds.
It will have no measurable effect on the availability of blood as these are a tiny percentage of the population.
The reason is the same as every other time this has been pressed: normalizing faggotry.
Homosexual acts should have always remained illegal everywhere.
Even if lax enforced they protected us from these perverts and their champions forcing them on society.
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