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The rules are the rules for a reason .I'm part of the LGBTQ community myself and acknowledge and accept the "why".Please don't turn this into something that it doesn't need to be
Should LGBT community be allowed to donate blood?
They also will not accept donations of you have had a piercing or tattoo in the last 12 months, or been to certain areas of the world in the last 5 years. Or if you were born/spent time in certain areas of Europe in the 1980s. All of these things put you at risk of having contaminated blood.
So the question is: Should members of the LGBT community be allowed to donate anyway?
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Mi
Let us also not forget this blood will be transfusion into another person and how people have gotten HIV/AIDS after getting blood transfusions ! There are several new mom's and newborns infected this way even today. Our blood screening process has definitely evolved since the late 80 ' s and 90 ' s but nothing is 100% perfect . Additionally, that blood can be infected but not show up for 3 months or more. So, the first line of defense is the pre-screen.
Mi
and it really slowed the line down. Most people waited a good 3 hours to get inside of the donation place too as so many kind hearted people wanted to help. There is a process in which people are ok'd to give their blood . It takes about 10 minutes . If you consistently have hordes of people failing to meet the already established rules and guidelines, you just wasted a ton of time. Both the workers time and people in line . So, to paint a picture , let's say there are 3,000 people in line to donate. Pre-screen takes about 5-10 min per person on a non busy and chaotic day so let's say minimum of 10 minutes . You screen the first 1,000 people at 10 minutes each. If 500 of them fail the screening it wastes time for the others waiting and the workers time too. If you notice a huge percent of people are failing the screening for the same reason over and over again, yes they will put 2 and 2 together and say let's not allow a certain group of people to donate *for right now*. I can't tell you how much blood gets thrown away s/p blood screening too. Some people lie to donate, some people may not know they have something and it becomes a problem .
Mi
The why is saftey. It's the same reason other people can't donate that are straight( various reasons-- the OP of this post stated many of them in the post). I just got an alert on this btw. It's an old post . Please remember we were talking about the heavy flow of potential blood donors after the night club shooting. In general , people in the LGBTQ community can indeed donate blood just like straight people can so long as their sexual history falls into certain parameters (both gay and straight folks have same parameters too). I'm not against us donating at all but when this event occured, they had so many people trying to donate and due to their sexual history (# of partners etc in x amount of time, type of sex performed etc) they were getting way way too many people that were not allowed to donate .
I understand them being upset I would be too. But....i agree. They shouldn't...now.. If you get tested and have proof of that and you have no STI or anything then it's ok. But what if someone has HIV, doesn't know, donates blood, and spreads it you know..I see the reason why they can't.
ᏰᏒ
are we just repeating each other now?
Al
They test your blood.
Ba
They test all blood donations for STDs (in Canada at least)
But wouldn't that apply to ANYONE? HIV/ AIDS is not exclusive to LGBT folks.
Su
The statistics show that the LGBT population have a higher rate of infection. Perhaps this is what they are going by.
Co
It's not that they are sleeping with more people. But it was more rampant in the LGBT community for a long time and we are still seeing the effects of that. Because they are a minority the chances of coming in contact with someone that has HIV is higher.
Br
No. But SOME are know to party and sleep around more. For whatever reason sleeping with a lot of members of the same sex is much more ok than sleeping with lots of members of the opposite sex.
Statistically, members of the LGBT community are at higher risk of carrying certain diseases. This was last updated by the CDC in September 2015 (less than a year ago)
El
Thank you for answer my question
Co
And the worst that could happen is they have to throw out ALL the blood that was tested with that one batch since they test the blood all together.
Co
White men who have sex with men are the most likely to get it, not all white men in general...
Safety if the number 1 priority. I sincerely doubt all Drs and Blood Drives are homophobic. There is a good medical reason why all of these stipulations exist. I understand that the community wants to help, but they could potentially do more harm than good. Listen to the Drs and not your passions. Find other ways to help. Volunteer to work the drives or go and motivate people who can donate to come out. Health and Safety codes have to come first.
Ja
Exactly, everyone thinks it's all about picking on them. It's not! It's about Health safety! Why Nobody sees it that way is beyond me. They block out information to hear what they want to hear and interpret it in their own way dramatically! People do.
Er
I'm not a Dr and I don't pretend to be. But my cousin is, and event patient matters to them. They're trying to save lives the best way they can without risking lives. Those codes aren't there just to offend people.
La
I understand that LGBT people are more likely to have an STD or HIV since they dont use protection as much but that doesnt mean they have a disease, and that doesn't mean a straight person doesnt have it. If it could save a life, i think everyone should be able to donate blood. And btw, they test you before donating.
if they want to donate they can. it's called lying. but I would hope they would be understanding and be honest. these rules arnt made to pick on people and make them stand out. the screening is there for a reason. I'm not allowed to donate plasma for a year because is spent over 72 hours in jail this last year! I went in to donate plasma and they asked me the screening questions and and answered honestly and and was turned away. the screening questions are not just for the LGBT group. it's for everyone. men who have been raped by men can't donate either. drug addicts can't donate either. people who have new tattoos or piercings can't donate either. why make a big deal out of this when the screening is for EVERYONE. NOT JUST to be used to pin point the LGBT community.
La
Well said!
Em
Yesssss
ᏰᏒ
thank you!!
I've never understood why they don't want gay men to donate. Straight people can have STDs and all too.
07
and straight women don't have anal sex.. I see posts on here constantly about anal sex..
Su
It's just more common for men who have sex with other men to transfer blood born illnesses. When they have anal sex it is very common for there to be small fissures/tears around the anus. These fissures can bleed and be open and susceptible to diseases transferred through the blood.
They should remove people who have anal sex, as that is what they are truly looking for when they ask if a male has sex with other males. They seem to have forgotten that women also have anal sex..If I need blood, I don't care who it comes from!
Ja
I thought they always test all of it though? I hope so.. Someone could have something and not know..
Ro
I mean, not that I'm a professional in this died or anything like that. It's just a guess of mine, since health care costs are pretty high.
Ro
It might be a decision that accounts for the hospital's wallet instead of the patient's opinion.
I understand why they are upset, but there are other "rules" that say you can't donate it. That would be like me getting the internet in an uproar because I'm pissed I just got a tattoo and they won't let me. Gotta get over it. It's not like it's because they don't like gays, it's just a precaution. Everyone gets so butt hurt.
Me
Statistics are against it
Me
It's a higher risk in those people
La
Yes but straight people can have HIV too. You ate cutting out a lot of blood that could be used to save lives just because it may be contaminated, but all blood could be contaminated, that why we have tests and screenings.
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