In the aftermath of the Orlando shooting, gay men discovered that they are still facing strict requirements for blood donation. The LGBTQIA community is offended by the existence of these regulations, especially since most of them are built on stigma.
The Mass Shooting Mobilized Thousands of People
In what can only be described as the biggest and deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States, the reaction of the citizens is more than noteworthy. Hours after news of the Pulse terrorist attack reached the media; people started lining up at different OneBlood centers wanting to help the victims in the only way they could, by providing the survivors with blood.
There are Strict Requirements for Blood Donation
However, every donor must first pass a rigorous exam before being able to donate blood. Unfortunately, one of the main rules stipulates that a man that had sexual relations with another man is not eligible for donation.
At the begging of the year, FDA modified the regulations stating that only men that did not engage in sexual relations with other men within a year were allowed to donate blood.
The LGBTQIA Considers This an Affront
Some members of the LGBTQIA are protesting these strict requirements for blood donation seeing as they are based on taboo.
The FDA first insisted on the rule back when HIV was strictly affecting the homosexual population. The tests were not as advanced as they are today, and it took a long time for doctors to determine whether or not a patient was infected with the incurable disease.
Now, the FDA reduced the ban from never to one year without gay relations. However, the time frame is still inexplicably long.
The LGBTQIA community argues that one month would be more than sufficient seeing as it takes a week to know if you are infected with the virus or not.
Moreover, there are a lot of gay men in monogamous relations that would be qualified to donate blood if this regulation didn’t exist.
OneBlood Insists That Only AB Plasma, O Negative, and O Positive Donors Are Needed
For the moment, there is nothing OneBlood can do. The order of reducing the waiting time must come from the FDA.
Currently, the blood bank issued an official report stating that they only need O negative and O positive blood and AB plasma. Donors with other blood types should wait for a call to arms.
Image source: Pixabay
