Well, seriously, how do they find out?
Does the workers ask them point blank if they are gay?
What about Lesbians? I don’t think they have AIDs like homosexual men?
I’ve never given blood as I’m a type 1 diabetic on a constant insulin pump.
What the blood donation centers ask about is simply “men having sex with men.” There is a questionnaire that asks all sorts of questions that potentially bar someone from donating blood, either for a limited period of time, or indefinitely.
Men who have had any sexual contact with men whatsoever, including a single incident, since 1977 were “permanently deferred” from donating until last year. Now there is a one-year ban on “MSM,” as it’s abbreviated, during which time a man must be celibate.
There is no way for the blood donation centers to tell if someone is telling the truth or not, on any question that’s asked.
Bans on certain people donating (like those who have used intravenous drugs, and those who have paid to have sex) are to discourage people from even showing up at the blood donation center, and the questionnaires are to put up another layer of protection.
But an FDA report on this very issue says that over time, the number of “MSM” men who donate blood has been increasing. It was less than 1% of their male donors 20 years ago, and it’s now over 2%:
“A key finding of particular note was that MSM, who comprise approximately 7% (Ref. 26) of the U.S. male population, represented an estimated 2.6% of male blood donors. Although the data were determined by different methodologies, they suggest an increase in the proportion of blood donors reporting MSM behavior from 0.6% in 1993 and 1.2% in 1998.”
For more information from the FDA on this issue:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3440651/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3440453/posts