Red Cros - Disriminatory Homophobics?

I feel that the general health of the public (protecting the blood supply) superceeds any discriminatory type questions.

Full Story: http://news.statesmanjournal.com/article.cfm?i=77204
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A pair of students at Western Oregon University want to ban Red Cross blood drives from their campus because they claim questions associated with the donor screening process are discriminatory against gays, reports the Statesman-Journal.

The question the students are peeved about reads: “Are you a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once?”

The FDA, which regulates the Red Cross screening process, will not accept a donation from someone who answers “yes” to the question. The intent is to help eliminate potentially HIV-tainted blood.

“By continuing to allow the Red Cross on our campus, the university is telling all the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students that we don’t care about you,” said student senator Shauna Bates, one of the ban’s proponents

I'm sorry but screening of blood is important. We are talking about people's lives and dealing with the issue of HIV. How else are they to ask the question of people being possibly infected without knowing it?

The Red Cross in Canada were hit hard when it was discovered that their screen process wasn't good. In fact, right now, in Toronto there is a supply of about a day and a half at best. That's not enough. But people don't trust the system enough to make donations. Perhaps it is potentially discriminatory, I don't know. When it affects the lives of other individuals however that what you are giving them could in fact kill them, which is more important?

If this form of discrimination can be justified by stats (the way those hosers at Insurence company do) then it wouldbe excusable since as Mittens said, it is important to make sure theblood is safe. You should be able to wave that problem if you can proveyou are clean.

Shouldn't the question be, "Have you had unprotected sex"? it seems that any bod ycan catch aids or hepatitis not just gays.....who would have thaught it.

That is a question they ask bballad. The system is very discriminatory. How many people have you read about in a lifetime that have contracted disease through blood transfusion? Hundreds, in mine. They also use discriminatory items such as drug use. Many people have communicable diseases such as HIV or Hepatitus etc... without even realizing it! They even uses such demoralizing questions as. "Have you recently had an illness such as a head cold etc? Discrimintating homophobic bastards. ;) In fact if you have lifestyles that include high colesterol, diabetes, cancer, etc you are also discriminated agaist with extreme prejudice. Oh and also Birth Control (god forbid we ask a lifestyle question that could indicate your sexual activity), blood pressure, taking aspirin, atibiotics.... extensive.

The Red Cross won't take my blood because I lived in Germany for several years. Something about meat potentially tainted with mad cow disease. Even though no one is sure how the disease is transmitted to humans, if it is really transmitted by tainted cow meat at all. So there goes my O-neg pint to help stuggling babies survive. Oh well. Maybe one day I won't be considered UNCLEAN by the Red Cross.

I know what you mean, I gave blood for years then one day I test positive for a disease on their list from some tainted milk from a tiny coffee house on an island I lived on for a while in a very dirty country. I later tested negative, but... I am now "unlcean". I look at it with a different view, it's not a bad thing to wonder since I did once fall into a risk category. For the record here is the red cross take on HIV, you will note that gay females are excluded. Very interesting.

Quote:

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HIV, AIDS
Those who are at increased risk for becoming infected with HIV are not eligible to donate blood. According to the Food and Drug Administration, you are at increased risk if:

you are a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once;
you have ever used a needle, even once, to take drugs or steroids that were not prescribed by a physician;
you have taken clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia;
you were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria since 1977 (This requirement is related to concerns about HIV Group O. Learn more about HIV Group O.)
you have taken drugs or money in exchange for sex since 1977;
you have ever had a positive test for HIV virus;
you have symptoms of HIV infection including unexplained weight loss, night sweats, blue or purple spots on or under the skin, long-lasting white spots or unusual sores in your mouth, lumps in your neck, armpits, or groin that last more than a month, fever higher than 99 degrees that lasts more than 10 days, diarrhea lasting over a month, or persistent cough and shortness of breath;
Wait for 12 months after close contact with someone who is at an increased risk for HIV infection. This occurs when paying to have sex, as a result of rape, or when having sex with an IV drug user.

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This was a while ago, haven't tried to give recently.

//EDIT Info taken from here Like I said VERY discriminatory

Im jsut saying that perhpas a safer way to screen people is to weed out those who have had unprotected sex as that puts you in a very high risk group for aids......then again I would be as worried about hepitis as I was about aids.

then again I don't give to the red cross...something about most of money donated to them is used for executive saleries and fundraising...when I give blood its at a blood bank type facility (Hey I was in college and they paid...probably not the best way to get beer money)