Should Gay Men Be Allowed to Give Blood?
Posted on December 2, 2013 in Public Policy, Sexuality by Nathan Cherry
The Washington Times posted an article highlighting the push to end a federal ban on gay men from giving blood. The article states: “Supporters of the policy say politics, not science, is driving the proposed change, which would heighten the risk of spreading HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, when the medical demand for blood donations is decreasing. Under Food and Drug Administration rules, men who have had sex with men (MSM) since 1977 are ineligible to donate blood. An acknowledgment of having male homosexual relations at any time in one’s life is enough to disqualify a potential donor.”
Is it time to end this ban and allow the group primarily responsible for the spread of HIV and AIDS to add their blood to the nation’s blood supply? The one fact that homosexual men cannot deny or overcome is that they are primarily responsible for transmitting HIV and AIDS; a fact even the CDC confirms. So is it wise to allow this group to donate blood? Would such a decision open the nation’s blood supply to contamination and risk infecting others? Those difficult questions must be addressed before a decision is made. Click here for original article.