Blood Donations Skyrocket, but Gay Men Left Out

NBC ^ | 6/15/16 | Emma Margolin

[Faith Presses On]

ORLANDO — Thousands of people have poured into blood banks or waited outside, melting in the mid 90-degree heat, since Sunday to meet an urgent call for blood donations after so much of it was spilled here on a nightclub floor. Many were sent home, having completely overwhelmed the staff and resources available to tap their veins. But for the community perhaps most affected by the horrific massacre, it was outdated regulations that kept them away.

"I want to be able to help my brothers and sisters that are out there, that are suffering right now," Garrett Jurss, a gay man, told NBC OUT. "But I can't, and I feel helpless."

Under the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) current guidelines, gay and bisexual men are required to remain celibate for a year before they can donate blood...

(snip)

The FDA justifies its policy by pointing to higher rates of HIV infection experienced nationally among gay and bisexual men...

(snip)

Gay and bisexual men, meanwhile, continue to press for their right to donate.

"It's insulting to a lot the LGBT population that this is still an issue," said Russell Walker, community development director of the AIDS organization Hope & Help. He has been directing LGBT friends who want to donate to OneBlood, despite the FDA regulations.

"Remember, you're celibate!" he called after one man on his way out the doors of the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida Monday. The two men laughed. But Walker soon grew serious again.

"There are so many outdated things we're fighting against," he said. "We're getting there. This is just another fight with a massive light shone on it."

[Faith Presses On]

Yes, a gay rights activist is encouraging people to break the law "in protest," and NBC seems to approve of that as well.

And this story apparently includes video with Dan Savage, the same person who eagerly admitted to using BIOWARFARE against Gary Bauer's 2000 presidential campaign by volunteering and then licking doorknobs at the campaign office and such while he was sick with something. He said he wanted to make Bauer sick but it didn't work. He undoubtedly got other people sick, though.

Some key quotes from the FDA's 2015 report on keeping the ban (very, very useful reference):

Although MSM represent a small percentage of the U.S. male population (approximately 7% of men report that they have ever participated in MSM activity and approximately 4% of men report that they engaged in MSM activity in the last 5 years 1 ) (Ref. 26), they comprise a large proportion of adults in the United States with existing and newly diagnosed HIV infections. Among persons living with HIV in 2012, CDC estimates that 56% were MSM (including MSM who were also IDU) (Ref. 27).

MSM remain at increased risk of HIV infection. In 2010, the majority of new HIV infections were attributed to male-to-male sexual contact: 63% among all adults and 78% among men, indicating that male-to-male sexual contact remains associated with high risk of HIV exposure (Ref. 28).

* * *

Sex with an HIV-positive partner was associated with a 132-fold increase in risk (multivariable adjusted odds ratio) for being HIV-positive, and a history of male-to-male sexual contact was associated with a 62-fold increase in risk.

By comparison, the increase in risk for a history of multiple sexual partners of the opposite sex in the last year was 2.3-fold.

* * *

In addition, the compliance rate with the one-year MSM deferral among male donors in Australia following the policy change was >99.7% (Ref. 37).

Of note, donors in Australia must sign a declaration in the presence of blood center staff that they understand that there are penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for providing false or misleading information. No such declaration is required in the United States, nor are donors advised of penalties for providing false or misleading information.

* * *

However, some have argued that a five-year deferral would, in theory, add a safeguard by allowing time for intervention against an emerging infectious disease that might spread rapidly among MSM and be transmitted through blood transfusion.

* * *

Specifically, the rate of partner infidelity in ostensibly monogamous heterosexual couples and same-sex male couples is estimated to be about 25%, and condom use is associated with a 1 to 2% failure rate per episode of anal intercourse (Refs. 38, 39, 40, 41).

In addition, the prevalence of HIV infection is significantly higher in MSM with multiple male partners compared with individuals who have only multiple opposite sex partners (Ref. 28).

* * *

HIV testing on blood donated in the United States is currently implemented by assays including nucleic acid testing. Nucleic acid testing is generally performed on pools of 6 to 16 donor samples. Pooling of samples both markedly reduces the cost of testing and is associated with a reduced number of false positive samples.

The window period when recent HIV infection might be missed using this testing strategy is approximately 9 days. Given this, it has been suggested that no donor deferral is necessary, given the relatively low likelihood that a recently infected individual would give blood.

However, in the setting of the approximately 50,000 new HIV infections per year in the United States, conservative calculations performed by FDA estimate that this approach could potentially be associated with an approximately four-fold increase in HIV transmissions resulting from blood transfusions each year.

Such a policy, increasing the potential for the transmission of HIV infection, is not aligned with maintaining or improving the safety of the blood supply in the U.S.

* * *

In addition, self-report of monogamy cannot be relied upon because of the relatively high rate of infidelity between partners in any type of sexual relationship (Ref. 38). Even if a potential donor is truthful in providing responses regarding his or her own behavior, the response may not be meaningful if a partner has not been monogamous.

* * *

As a group, in the United States, MSM have the highest HIV risk: according to CDC, two-thirds of new HIV infections occur in the approximately 2% of the population who are MSM (Ref. 27). The risk of HIV among MSM is more than twenty-fold higher than that of men who have sex with multiple female partners and women who have sex with multiple male partners (Ref. 32).

Thus, absent another scientifically-validated way of identifying individuals at highest risk of transmitting HIV, a time-based deferral for MSM since last sexual encounter is the one deferral policy that has been demonstrated to be effective in a setting with similar HIV epidemiology to the United States.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3440453/posts

[Reno89519]

NO HOMOSEXUAL BLOOD. Period.

[tcrlaf]

I lost two friends in the Great Hemopheliac Die-Off of the late 80’s/early 90’s due to AIDS-tainted blood.

To even remember that it happened is now politically-incorrect.

Not just no, but.

OH, HELL NO!

[Arm_Bears]

Here’s an idea.

Forcibly transfuse blood obtained from raging queers into every employee at NBC, along with members of their families.

That might shut them up.

[WENDLE]

They have aids. Please understand that I am sorry they were killed by godless moslems but I don’t ,in any way. condone their faggot life style. I think they are sick, mentally ill people that need help, compassion and shock treatments.

[sparklite2]

Or how about this? Blood donated by homosexuals can only be used to treat homosexuals. They probably have the same diseases, anyway.

[Da Coyote]

Translation: Blood donations begin. Diseased blood left out.

[Dilbert San Diego]

“Remember, you’re celibate!” he called after one man on his way out the doors of the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida Monday. The two men laughed. But Walker soon grew serious again.

“There are so many outdated things we’re fighting against,” he said. “We’re getting there. This is just another fight with a massive light shone on it.”

---

This guy is hinting at the policy which allows homosexual men who have been celibate for at least a year to donate.

Why does this guy think it’s funny to go in and lie about your celibacy status?? Clearly these homosexuals think the whole matter of screening standards is a joke. So why should we allow them to donate? It’s all about them. They evaluate everything on how it affects them as a homosexual, regardless of whether or not there is any good reason to have a standard in place.

Homosexuals as a group tend to be the vilest bitterest, most narcissistic people I have ever seen.

[NorthMountain]

"I want to be able to help my brothers and sisters that are out there, that are suffering right now," Garrett Jurss, a gay man, told NBC OUT. "But I can't, and I feel helpless."

So quit the buttseks ... your filthy, perverted, unnatural lusts spread all manner of diseases. Your 'helplessness' is self inflicted.

[Cruz_West_Paul2016]

imagine if the likes of Michael Moore and Al Shartpon were waiting in line to give blood? you think that maybe the staff would of told the hated democrats to go home?

[Bob]

“RIGHT to donate”??????

When did they make that one up?

[Cruz_West_Paul2016]

remember the classic scene when archie bunker found out that he got an infusion of black blood?

[R_Kangel]

... Heck ... Other that being tainted with the AID's Virus ... what the heck could possibly go wrong with allowing gay folks donate blood ... we all know that blood is not racist or homophobic!

.... BTW .... I seem to recall that "Those who do not learn from their mistakes are doomed to repeat them."

...... Apparently we are about to relive the last hundred years thanks to the Ignorant and Politically Correct Democrats and their GOP sycophantic Useful Idiots.

[mumblypeg]

Paging Captain Obvious, here: if the gays truly want to help their brethren to a speedy recovery, they should step aside, and make sure their friends get clean, healthy blood.
Not only do they risk passing on HIV, but also syphillis, chlamidia, and a new thing called c-diff.

[WENDLE]

Did you know that it is unnatural to kiss and have sexual climax with the same sex ( I will restrain from further description) . It doesn’t happen in ANY OTHER SPECIES. These people are sick and it is an abomination to the God of creation driven by Satan. That’s all.

[Secret Agent Man]

I guess not wanting hiv or hepatitis or syphilis or any other thing they have in the blood supply, is outdated.

[PhiloBedo]

I know it’s not your headline.

I have an issue with the term “gay men”. It should be gay males. By definition gays are not men...and, their not gay either, be homosexuals, so the correct term is “male homosexuals”..but the MSM likes corrupting the language.

Also, I don’t understand why homos are so insistent on donating blood, unless they want to spread their AIDS problem to the general population for some perverted reason.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Deuteronmy 22:15

[PhiloBedo]

their**they’re

[napscoordinator]

This has been the best thing to ever happen to the blood banks. They have had millions (besides the homosexuals) to give blood. There will be plenty of blood for needs at all hospitals for the next 45 days (I think that is how long it lasts). This is a blessing to all who will need transfusions all over the country.