Posted on 05/12/2015 11:49:04 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The Obama administration is calling for the end to a lifetime ban on blood donations from gay and bisexual men, acknowledging that the policy “is perceived by some as discriminatory.”
The Food and Drug Administration proposed new rules on Tuesday that would roll back the ban, though it still restricts gay men from donating blood if they have had sex with another man within a year.
The proposal still marks the country’s biggest step yet toward changing the 30-year-old prohibition.
Critics of the ban, which was enacted during the national AIDS epidemic in 1983 and last updated in 1992, say it ignores mounds of scientific evidence concluding that blood donations from gay men pose no risk than the greater public if properly screened. The FDA said in its draft rules that the ban has become less effective over time, admitting that “some individuals knowingly donate despite the deferral."
The agency will now collect public comments on the rule for 60 days.
The American Medical Association quickly praised the move, releasing a statement that called it “a step in the right direction to end the lifetime ban that prohibits men who have had sex with men (MSM) from ever donating blood.”
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
WOW
It should be illegal for homosexuals to donate blood...and I dont say that with any hatred in my heart.
Drink raw milk and get your door kicked down as your home is raided by a SWAT team.
Donate your syphilis/HIV infected blood... we’ll give you OJ and frosted donuts!
What about false negatives?
I both understand and agree with that.
They happen, and the probability of a false negative is highest within a month of contracting the virus. The probability of a false negative drops drastically with time. However, that’s only the tip of the iceberg, because there’s also the issue of increased risk of blood having Hepatitis viruses and others too.
If public health trumped sniveling liberal, homophilic, politics, then one case of AIDS in the queer community would never have become millions of cases nationwide.
What better way to infect the entire population with AIDS?
I am unable to donate because I was exposed to Hep C in 1966.
DW, OTOH, has donated 28 gallons over the years.
Chances are, when you’re in need of blood, you’re in no position to object.
Elizabeth Glaser (Starsky’s ice) list two kids and her own life to AIDS transfusions and still blamed Republications.
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