Guess what kiddos--the blood-donating public is perfectly aware of this policy, as the Red Cross has been asking these questions since about the time you were born.
Adults also remember the hemophiliacs who got infected in the 1980's due to an unsafe blood supply.
Hint: Donating blood is not about you. It's not a form of self expression. It's about helping someone in need. So, get over yourself. The rest of us don't care how the screening process makes you feel. We want a safe blood supply.
That being said, I think the screening process needs to be updated to identify women who have been having monogamous sex with men who have been having sex with other partners. The spread of HIV among women is a problem, and the blood-screening process needs to address it.
Exactly. A disease is a disease, male or female.
During my annual gyn examination, the doc was asking all kinds of questions, and when he asked if I had been exposed to HIV, I told him that I was in a 100% risk free group; married for almost 30 years to the same guy. He said he had a woman tell him once that she wasn't at risk for HIV because her 'boyfriend' was married! My jaw dropped to the floor! I asked the Doc if he told the chick that the guy could be doing several other girls besides herself, since his marriage vows obviously didn't mean anything to him, and he just shook his head and laughed.