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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 5:02 pm
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Quote: Canadian Blood Services wants to change a long-standing policy that would allow gay men to donate blood if they haven't had sex with a man in the last five years. It's a change from a total ban on donations from any man who had ever had sex with another man.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/story/2013/01/12/calgary-blood-services-changes.html
So, instead of completely refusing donations from any man who has had sex with another man since 1977 (or women who've had sex with a man who has done so), they're soon going to be willing to accept blood from men who have been celibate (or sleeping with women, I guess) for the past five years.
Part of me wants to be happy that it's better than nothing, but ultimately this change seems pointless. I certainly don't think this is going to widen the pool of potential donors by much, anyway. It still eliminates people who could be great potential donors, and it does so simply because these individuals aren't celibate or straight. If I've been in a stable relationship for years, and neither my partner(s) nor I have any diseases or health problems that would otherwise exclude us from blood donation, how does it make sense to automatically prohibit us from donating?
As the recipient of donated blood myself, I am very grateful that CBS is careful about the blood they accept, but I am also concerned that they're refusing perfectly good blood and plasma based on politics rather than facts.
If you're curious about the kinds of questions they ask when you donate blood, you can check out the donor questionnaire here. After seeing question 11 (which asks, among other things, if you've ever had epilepsy), I guessed that I would be excluded anyway, gay or not, but there is a note on the page that says questions 1 through 13 don't necessarily impact your eligibility.
Anyway. Your thoughts? Have any of you ever received or donated blood? For those of you outside of Canada, what are the policies on blood donation in your region? If I recall correctly, there's a ban in the US, as well, but I'm not familiar with the policies elsewhere.
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 5:35 pm
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Posted: Sun Jan 13, 2013 11:34 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 12:29 am
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 1:15 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 2:58 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 6:46 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:11 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 7:47 pm
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Posted: Mon Jan 14, 2013 8:03 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 8:22 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2013 9:07 pm
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Lady Kayura Taeryyn Anyway. Your thoughts? Have any of you ever received or donated blood? For those of you outside of Canada, what are the policies on blood donation in your region? If I recall correctly, there's a ban in the US, as well, but I'm not familiar with the policies elsewhere.
My thoughts? 5 years seems just a tad bit excessive. And it perpetuates the idea that AIDS is only passed through gay men. It isn't. >_<
I've never received blood but I've donated. I'm O- which means my blood could go to anyone. Which I once thought was nice. Until the Red Cross started harassing me to donate. See, when I donate I would be borderline sick. Weak, dizzy. Then it got to the point where I'd pass out. So I explained that to the Red Cross when they'd call. They told me to drink more water. I did. They told me to eat. I'd eat before AND after. As in full meals. Doesn't matter what I do. So I don't donate often. And yet they still call. I've explained this to them and asked them to stop calling. They still call. Very annoying. I regret giving them my damn number. -_-
And as far as I know, the US does have a ban on blood donations from homosexual males.
i have friends who donate every couple days it seems like, they are always bugging me to go. but im pretty anemic and any large amount of blood loss can really mess with me.
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 10:35 am
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:04 am
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Alien dude2 Purple Robot King I know plenty of gay men in the US who just lie about their orientation and donate anyway. The blood still gets tested, so they figure it's the best way to go. I may actually do that if I ever get into a relationship with another guy and it gets intimate. I highly doubt that it a person who's straight receives blood from a gay man that he'd become gay or burst into flames. (..I just thought of that happening, it was funny as hell. Not the bursting into flames option, the one where the person instantly turns gay xd )
Hehe. Maybe we can spread like zombies! razz
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Posted: Thu Jan 17, 2013 11:07 am
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Purple Robot King Alien dude2 Purple Robot King I know plenty of gay men in the US who just lie about their orientation and donate anyway. The blood still gets tested, so they figure it's the best way to go. I may actually do that if I ever get into a relationship with another guy and it gets intimate. I highly doubt that it a person who's straight receives blood from a gay man that he'd become gay or burst into flames. (..I just thought of that happening, it was funny as hell. Not the bursting into flames option, the one where the person instantly turns gay xd ) Hehe. Maybe we can spread like zombies! razz
That would also be awesome
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