The American Red Cross is now allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood without restrictions that specifically single out a person’s sexual orientation or gender, the nonprofit group said Monday.
And it only took… *checks notes* 40 years!
Technically still waiting on it to happen. If you’ve had anal sex, you still have to wait 3 months. So they are still discriminating against most MSM.
No, it isn’t. Anal sex is a known high risk factor for STDs and infections. It also applies to everyone, not just gay/bi men.
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Theoretically, it applies to everyone. The anti-sodomy laws also technically applied to everyone, but were only enforced against the LGBT community.
It is good that now they will at least screening those who have heterosexual intercourse, but most MSM still won’t be able to donate with the various restrictions. Only MSM in a long-term relationship will be able to donate.
I can understand the biological reason for not allowing certain medications to avoid complications. However, they could still take blood and just keep it separate just as plasma centers that take MSM plasma do. If there really is a shortage, they should be taking everything being offered.
Not really, it specifies “new partners,” which is completely fair. People lie, and it allows time for symptoms to show up so the red cross doesn’t end up wasting resources. I don’t really know how they’d work out polycules unless they add a monogamous restriction. The three months it’s about safety since they are dealing with blood.
Great, now I can move forward with my plan of turning everyone gay by donating blood
Convert 10 or more and you get a new toaster oven!
God speed 🫡
Can I just get a little blood? I don’t want to go full gay, I just want to be able to tell which sneakers I should wear with this outfit.
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Not to worry, I’m working on a gay blood donation scheme that should fix that right up for you.
I’m gay as fuck and have no idea how to dress
not if you like having sex. lol
Goddammit! I have o- blood and the red cross called me LITERALLY everyday after I donated the first time. I asked them to only call every quarter because I still did want to donate, but that just made them call every other day. Finally out of frustration I looked for anything that would make me ineligible to donate and the next time they called, I told them I was gay. All calls stopped after that.
I found that making an appointment, no matter how far in the future makes them stop calling.
I donate plasma (AB+) as often as I can, usually 2 weekly as that is the limit here. But if you’re single the 4 month halt for having sex with a new partner is annoying because they will keep calling while they say you can’t donate.
Cue right wingers refusing transfusions. Actually, that’s fine.
Blood is blood is blood. I’m sure that people who need it don’t care if an absolute bigoted moron gave it to them, they wouldn’t know anyways.
Edit: I’m the moron, you meant refusing taking blood, not giving it lmao
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Are youIn 2006, the AABB, American Red Cross, and America’s Blood Centers all supported a change from the current US policy of a lifetime deferral of MSM to one year since most recent contact. One model suggested that this change would result in one additional case of HIV transmitted by transfusion every 32.8 years. The AABB has suggested making this change since 1997. The FDA did not accept the proposal and had concerns about the data used to produce the model, citing that additional risk to recipients was not justified. Source
We are well past the 80s and decades behind something that should have. Been corrected a long time ago. The systemic discrimination towards gay men is apparent when you look at EU models of deferment compared to the US.
Maybe this is a cynical take, but will conservatives refuse a life saving blood transfusion because it may have come from a gasp gay man? I mean a bunch were refusing transfusions because the blood could have come from someone that had a gasp covid vaccine.
There are people who refuse blood transfusions because of relious beliefs and will let their children die. Of course there are some that would refuse “gay blood.”
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Literally can’t even believe that was a thing!
I think it was set up when AIDS was spreading amongst the gay community before they had a test for it.
Of course, now they can both test for it and it spread well beyond the gay community for a while so it’s ridiculous that it was still a thing.
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Is the UK 1980-96 thing being removed too? That’s cool.
Not just brits btw, but anyone who spent an extended time in the UK in the 80s/90s. IRC due to fears about CJD/Mad Cow’s Disease.
I was stationed in UK and couldn’t donate blood as a result. That was only ten years ago. Since they opened it back up I am getting constant calls to donate.
In my country gay men account for 90% of all HIV infections. It’s very hard to ensure blood is free of HIV, as blood is infectious within three months of infection but won’t test positive
Conservatives might be getting some of that gay blood. Does that work the same as eating the heart of a warrior to gain their power?
Yes, but instead of becoming more powerful, you become more fabulous.
Sign me up! Sound like A-positive to me!
Under the new guidelines, anyone who has recently had sex with a new partner or multiple people and has also had anal sex would have to wait three months to donate
Those taking oral medication to prevent HIV infection, called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, still have to wait three months from their last dose to donate blood. People taking long-acting PrEP injections have to wait two years before donating.
Also note that the Red Cross is usually quick to say it’s actually the FDA that imposes these homophobic restrictions and it’s “not their fault”
They said the same thing in Austria: “not our fault, the government agencies make these rules!”
And the government agencies would be like “well, we want to change the rules, but the Red Cross tells us not to!”
Took us to have a left-wing green health minister to pressure them enough.
The finally implemented the changes last year, sounds like it is 1:1 the same rules like you guys have now.
Darn, so straight people having anal raw dog gang bangs can no longer donate soon after experiencing a DVDA? How is that fair? /s
I didn’t know that was still in place, since they started testing for AIDS decades ago.
how the hell have we reached a point as a society where people would rather literally fucking die than get life saving blood from someone who thinks differently from them?
I didn’t even know that was happening!
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I wonder if homophobes will suddenly turn gay after a blood transfusion? /s
Bro that’s not it. It was about AIDS having spread throughout the gay community before testing was feasible.
Testing methods are still inadequate, as blood may test negative whilst infectious in the first three months
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Must be fun in your head
In 2023. Unbelievable.
