XPost: alt.bathroom, aus.culture.lesbigay, alt.lefthanders   
   XPost: nz.soc.queer   
   From: jms@no-fag-blood.com   
      
   While I support the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decision   
   to eliminate the lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men,   
   there are elements of the new policy that I do not agree with.   
   Under the new policy, men must abstain from having sex with   
   other men for 12 months before they can donate blood. To me,   
   this year-long period of abstinence does not make sense, nor   
   will it help to address the problems we face today.   
      
   It is important to have as many eligible blood donors as   
   possible because the commitment from the general public to   
   donate is sometimes forgotten as we get wrapped up in our daily   
   routines. As a result, our nation continues to struggle in   
   maintaining life-saving blood supplies in many areas and   
   hospitals. Under the new policy, we will continue to have these   
   issues as gay men remain limited as to when they can donate, so   
   the pool of potential donors will not grow significantly.   
      
   We have made tremendous progress in the medical community on how   
   we analyze blood. The sophistication of laboratory processing   
   for the screening of HIV is quite advanced today. One has to   
   remember that there is roughly a 7-10 day window between initial   
   HIV infection, and when the virus can be detected in blood.   
   According to the statistics, the probability of receiving an HIV-   
   positive blood donation is one in 1.5 million for U.S. patients.   
   The odds suggest our laboratories are doing a very fine job in   
   screening our blood supply.   
      
   I cannot tell you the scientific reasoning for the one-year ban   
   on sexual activity. This means that potential gay male donors   
   will be asked "Have you had sex with another man within the last   
   12 months?" To me, that year-long abstinence policy doesn't make   
   any sense. The FDA must explain the chosen time period, and   
   realize that gay couples who are in a stable, loving   
   relationship are not going to abstain from having sex with their   
   partner for an entire year just to be able to donate blood. The   
   policy is still stigmatizing the gay community and is   
   discriminatory, especially toward those who do not have any   
   other high-risk factors like drug abuse.   
      
   I think the more pertinent question that should be asked of a   
   potential donor should focus on the number of sexual partners   
   they have had over the past year, and whether or not they have   
   been tested for HIV within that same time period. If a donor has   
   been tested in the last 12 months, I believe it is fair to   
   document the results of that HIV test, that way you have   
   multiple risk factors identified. However, the general rule for   
   donors who are at a low-risk of HIV should be no more than a 30-   
   day period of abstinence.   
      
   As it stands now, this new policy will only serve to confuse the   
   American public, and I believe it was a hastily assembled plan   
   to change an outdated, 32-year-old policy, without really   
   addressing the issues. Unfortunately, this is typical of the FDA.   
      
   The FDA will begin taking comments on the new policy in the next   
   60 days, and I implore men and women of the scientific community   
   and those who are knowledgeable on this topic to weigh in. I am   
   encouraged by the change in policy, but I hope that the news is   
   not inflated without rational scientific facts behind it. Adding   
   confusion to the mix will further discourage people from   
   donating blood, or may even cause them to be afraid of receiving   
   a life-saving unit of donated blood when they really need it.   
      
   The post How FDA plan to lift ban on gay blood donations missed   
   the mark appeared first on AskDrManny.   
      
      
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   Dr. Manny Alvarez serves as Fox News Channel's Senior Managing   
   Editor for Health News. Prior to this position, Alvarez was a   
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   http://www.foxnews.com/health/2015/05/13/how-fda-plan-to-lift-   
   ban-on-gay-blood-donations-missed-mark/   
      
           
      
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