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Blood donors.

While the Obama Administration and its "progressive" supporters in Congress insist they want a federal health care bill to protect people from deadly diseases, liberal senators led by John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Al Franken (D-Minn.) have pressured the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into considering lifting the ban on male homosexuals donating blood. It's a decision that could mean disease and death for many Americans, and billions of dollars in additional health care costs. "John Kerry Supports Gay Blood" declared a column on a pro-homosexual website. Kerry, Franken and 16 other liberal senators insist they want the blood supply...

BOSTON -- Gay men should be allowed to donate blood and laws banning them from doing so are discriminatory and outdated, according to Sen. John Kerry and several of his Senate colleagues. "Not a single piece of scientific evidence supports the ban,” Kerry said. “A law that was once considered medically justified is today simply outdated and needs to end." Kerry was one of 16 U.S. Senators who in a letter on Thursday asked the Food and Drug Administration to lift the ban on gay men donating blood. The ban was put in place in 1983, at the height of...

A gay man who repeatedly gave blood after lying about having sex with other men is suing Canadian Blood Services, alleging the questionnaire used by the agency to screen out unsuitable donors is a violation of his charter rights. Kyle Freeman alleges the blood collection agency violates his charter rights and those of other gay men by asking male donors on the questionnaire whether they had ever had sex with a man, even once, since 1977.

New Jerseyans can be generous, but not when it comes to blood.  For 15 years, the state has lagged behind the nation in the percentage of people giving blood.  New Jersey hospitals were forced to spend  $18 million to $24 million in 2007 to buy supplies from other states, according to health and business experts who are banding together today to announce a statewide blood donation campaign. "Nine out of 10 people need blood at some point in their lives. Yet at most times of the year, the state has less than a two-day supply of blood." Nearly 60 percent...

A local blood center is trying to stock up in time for the Democratic National Convention. Officials with the Bonfils Blood Center said Monday that the number of blood donations typically drops by as much as 20 percent during the summer months. The annual decline in giving will coincide with the Democrats' convention, Aug. 25-28 in Denver, when it's essential to have a ready supply of blood in the event of an emergency, officials said. "We definitely are taking steps to prepare for it (the convention)," said Jessica Maitland, Bonfils Blood Center's vice president of marketing and community operations. "We've...

Due to the large number of burn cases transported to Augusta Burn Center from the explosion in Savannah there is a desperate need for blood. Contact Sheppard Blood center at (706) 737-4551.

Republicans give a bigger share of their incomes to charity, says a prominent economistIt's been a tough month for conservatives, with the Republican Party losing control of both houses of Congress, but a new book being released this week may help brighten their spirits.  In Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism (Basic Books), Arthur C. Brooks finds that religious conservatives are far more charitable than secular liberals, and that those who support the idea that government should redistribute income are among the least likely to dig into their own wallets to help others.  Some of his findings...

The New York Times and Washington Post editorialize about America's "stinginess." Former President Jimmy Carter says when it comes to helping others, "The rich states don't give a damn." Standing outside the White House, the singer Bono told the press that America doesn't do enough to help the needy: "It's the crumbs off our tables that we offer these countries." It seems obvious to Bono and President Carter that America offers "crumbs" because the governments of most other wealthy countries distribute a larger percentage of their nations' wealth in foreign aid. Yes, the U.S. government gave out $20 billion last...

Local doctor: Situation becoming critical HARLINGEN - The Rio Grande Valley is experiencing a "critical blood shortage," reducing one blood bank's stock to 65 percent of ideal capacity and leaving hospitals scrambling to maintain adequate supply, officials say. "It is becoming critical right now, although we never allow ourselves to run out of blood," said Dr. Lawrence Dahm, pathologist at Valley Baptist Medical Center-Harlingen. "There are very few people turning out to donate here or in the interior (of Texas)." The region is short on blood donations in part because of ice storms that have plagued North Texas, Oklahoma and...

The family of a 5-year-old boy from Braham who was severely burned last week is pleading with the public for blood donations such as the ones that have been used to treat the boy. Sky Williams remains in critical condition at Hennepin County Medical Center after he suffered third-degree burns over nearly 100 percent of his body. "Sky's getting all the blood he needs, and the family's request came out of their hearts," said Dr. Elizabeth Perry, associate medical director of the Minneapolis-based Memorial Blood Center. "They just wanted to say help us." Somewhat complicating the boy's case is that...

TORONTO (CP) - The doctor at the centre of the tainted blood tragedy that left thousands infected with HIV and hepatitis C will know next month whether he will stand trial. Defence lawyer Eddie Greenspan says any insinuations that Dr. Roger Perrault, the former head of the Canadian Red Cross, wants to escape justice are "dead wrong." Greenspan says Perrault appreciates the enormity of the disaster and that if he were healthy he would stand trial "in a New York minute." Perrault is charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm and common nuisance endangering the public. The 68-year-old is applying...

DURHAM — The University of New Hampshire’s Student Senate will consider adopting a resolution tomorrow that would challenge the federal government’s policy of banning sexually active gay men from donating blood. Sponsored by student Sen. Nicholas Christiansen, a 19-year-old sophomore, and the student senate’s Community Change Council, the resolution wants the Food and Drug Administration and the American Red Cross to become, in its words, “aware of our strong opposition to the policy that bans sexually active homosexual males from ever donating blood, and that the students are dedicated to equal treatment and opportunity for all people, regardless of sexual...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Red Cross employee and two other people were accused Friday of stealing the identities of about 40 blood donors and using the information to obtain about $268,000 in cash and merchandise. In 2002 and 2003, Red Cross worker Danielle Baker, 33, of Collingswood, N.J., filched names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers and places of employment from the computer records of people who had participated in corporate blood drives in Philadelphia, U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan said. Harold J. McCoy III, 33, and Karynn R. Long, 36, of Dayton, Ohio, then used the information...

<p>COLUMBIA, Mo. — Members of a sorority were urged to lie about their health to qualify as donors in a competitive blood drive at the University of Missouri-Columbia (search), a school that once set a world record for blood collection.</p>

Story Number: NNS040308-15 Release Date: 3/9/2004 12:38:00 AM By Journalist 2nd Class Ahron Arendes, USS Nimitz Public Affairs NORTH ISLAND, Calif. (NNS) -- USS Nimitz (CVN 68) broke the Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) single-day blood donation record Feb. 20 at a blood drive to support service members deployed to the Middle East, military hospitals and clinics, and retirees, and their family members. According to Doreen Rekoski, ASBP blood donor recruiter, in one day, Nimitz Sailors donated 162 pints of blood, breaking the previous record of 133. The record for a two-day blood drive is 204 pints. "The one-day drive...

Some soldiers can't donate By MARTHA QUILLIN, Staff Writer Thursday, February 12, 2004 7:18AM EST FORT BRAGG -- The threat of a parasitic disease spread by a desert sand fly's bite has put a crimp in the military's blood supply. Thousands of soldiers returning from service in Iraq are learning that they are not eligible to donate blood for one year from the date they left the country, because of the danger of leishmaniasis. Civilian contractors and others also are being barred from giving blood even as the Armed Services Blood Program is trying to rebuild its seven-year supply of...