Comments on: Discrimination Sensation

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theobromophile — Fri, 25 May 2007 18:26:32 +0000

Pro-choice gays have always befuddled me….

Tieki: You’re right: the FDA regs are practical. My only concern is that, generally, the FDA has found a way to eliminate a lot of really healthy blood donors, and then it complains about the shortage.

I would happily donate three or four times a year, as there is a shortage, and they would take my blood, but, again, the scar tissue build-up makes that impractical (and not good for my own health).

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Neil — Fri, 25 May 2007 02:16:34 +0000

Tammy Bruce (an odd journalist: pro-choice but a gun-toting Reaganite) is gay, but she rails against the extremes of the movement - including gays who lie so they can donate blood.

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tieki rae — Fri, 25 May 2007 01:03:07 +0000

Bridget, you’re exactly right with the AIDS statistics and that’s what makes the FDA’s regulations so practical (un-federalist as they may be) as Jesse said.

As far as discrimination goes, I don’t think that this regulation is anti-gay so much as it is pro-public health.

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theobromophile — Thu, 24 May 2007 23:38:27 +0000

Great post, Tieki Rae.
It is not politically correct, but the AIDS rate among gay men is much, much higher than in the general population. (While white, heterosexual women might be the fastest-growing demographic, that’s in percentage terms, not absolute terms. Doubling a very small number is still a very small number.) That’s bad for gays who aren’t aware of the increased need to protect themselves. I’m all for life: I want people to know of health risks.

Anyway, back to blood. The FDA’s limits on blood are beyond annoying. No one who has lived overseas for more than a few months can donate. Mad cow is the excuse for people who have lived in Britain, but it applies even to vegetarians. The rules lack any sort of sensible grounding, and, of course, the FDA really doesn’t have any business nosing around medicine, anyway. (Isn’t medicine supposed to be a state issue? Oh, wait, the FDR administration took care of federalism!)

That is why the Red Cross loves me. I actually meet all of their strange requirements. I also have scar tissue on my veins from donating so much. Grrr….

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Jesse — Thu, 24 May 2007 16:02:18 +0000

They are able to test the blood, rest assured.

As for discrimination, I would be sorta insulted if it were suggested that I were as unhealthy as druggies and prostitutes just because of with whom I had sex :p

That said, it does seem possible that just saying “no gays” could be a better use of time than testing all the samples.