My Bloody Valentine

So, the American Red Cross is experiencing a blood shortage are they? Hmm, maybe if they allowed people to give blood, they'd have some. I wonder if efficiency in testing is really so important when there's no blood in the banks.

What am I talking about, you ask? Well, a couple of years ago, I was a captain for my office's blood drive and I learned a few things about the rules behind giving blood. Done cocaine (through the nose) in the last twelve months? Forget it. They assume you may have used a straw someone else used and you could have HIV or hepatitis. Got a tattoo or piercing (this varies with blood banks) in the last 12 months? Too bad, because again, you may have been exposed to HIV/hep. Jail or mental institution in the last 12 months? Same. Also, if you've had sex with someone who meets these conditions, you need to wait to donate. Have you ever, even once, even with a sterile needle, injected anything not prescribed by a doctor? You will never be able to donate blood, even if you test HIV negative from here to eternity. Anyone who has ever taken drugs or money in exchange for sex is ineligible. And my very favorite, any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even once, even with a condom, even if he's tested HIV negative for years, will never be able to donate.

I understand that the reasoning is that if you weed out the higher-risk donors, there will be less waste of unusable donations. But all donations are tested! Would someone who was knowingly HIV or hepatitis positive attempt to donate blood? While many of the above cited guidelines are minor and understandable, I am appalled that all gay men are precluded from donating, no matter what their HIV status. Where is the guideline about promiscuous women who don't require their partners to use condoms? What about "If your partner refuses to use condoms and you suspect that he is having sex with other people, you may not donate"? I used to give blood all the time, but the last time, according to the rules, I was ineligible for a very minor reason. Now, I could have lied. I could have donated blood anyway. Anyone could lie. They don't have your medical records, only what you tell them. Thank goodness they test every donation, right? Oh, yeah, THEY TEST EVERY DONATION. But it's a good thing they keep the gays from donating, because surely they've all got the AIDS, you know. Jesus Christ!

I refuse to donate blood anymore, except for my own use. Until the federal government takes a look at their discriminatory donation guidelines and makes a change. I know it's important to screen blood donations and to make sure no one is given infected blood. I know that gay men are a high risk group for HIV. But I also know that if you're facing a shortage of blood, maybe it's not because no one wants to give, but because no one is allowed to give.

[On the "Alexia is crazy" front, I also think about whether this whole blood transfusion thing is such a good idea in the first place. I can't quite put it in the same category as organ transplants, but I get closer all the time.]