SJSU suspends blood drives, citing FDA ban on donations by gay men

San Jose Mercury News ^ | 1/31/8 | Dana Hull

[SmithL]

In a move believed to be the first by a college campus in the nation, San Jose State University President Don Kassing has suspended all campus blood drives because the U.S. Food and Drug Administration bars any man who has had sex with another man from donating blood.

"The FDA's lifetime blood donor deferral affecting gay men violates our non-discrimination policy," said Kassing in an e-mail sent to faculty, staff and students.

The suspension, which is effective immediately, applies to blood drives arranged by employees representing the university as well as blood drives organized by student groups.

The FDA's ban on blood donations by gay men has been in effect for years. The FDA says gay men are far more likely to be infected with HIV than the general population, and the agency has a duty to protect the nation's blood supply.

But the policy has been under intense debate, and a new generation of openly gay high school and college students is questioning and protesting what they say is a discriminatory policy.

Last year, the issue arose locally when the student body president at Harbor High School in Santa Cruz was turned away from donating blood because he is gay.

The fact that gay men are prohibited from donating blood - regardless of their sexual activity, safe-sex practices or HIV status - has rankled the gay community for years. The American Red Cross and other national organizations that regularly run blood drives are also pushing the FDA to revise the policy, which has been in place since AIDS awareness became widespread in the early 1980s.

[SmithL]

State School - Your Tax Dollars at Work!

[dan1123]

“The FDA’s lifetime blood donor deferral affecting gay men violates our non-discrimination policy,”

Yeah, and non-discrimination policies that affect the safety of the blood supply violate common sense.

[kimmie7]

So some poor person who needs blood gets screwed because someone else got screwed. Nice.

[Rummyfan]

The fact that gay men are prohibited from donating blood - regardless of their sexual activity, safe-sex practices or HIV status - has rankled the gay community for years.

TS! they want to put the blood supply at risk just to ease theri feelings?

The American Red Cross and other national organizations that regularly run blood drives are also pushing the FDA to revise the policy

News to me as I just donated last week and the form specifically asked if I'd had sex with a man in the last twenty years.

[A Cyrenian]

gay men don't kill people.

Only gay men with AIDS.

[mewzilla]

I didn’t take it personally when Mad Cow considerations kept me being able to donate. Sheesh.

[digger48]

Yes, let’s just taint the entire blood supply to show our tolerance for those who frolic in feces

[lormand]

To all those who think EVERYTHING the government does is wrong, think again.

Thank you FDA!

[Leftism is Mentally Deranged]

Disgusting. Once again, our elected officials prefer to kill thousands of innocent people just so that they can have money from the most powerful special interest group in this country

[KosmicKitty]

Banning homosexuals from donating blood lengthens the time it’s going to take until we are all equally infected w/ AIDS.

From “Team America, World Police”

Everyone has AIDS!
AIDS AIDS AIDS!
AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS!
Everyone has AIDS!

And so this is the end of our story
And everyone is dead from AIDS
It took from me my best friend
My only true pal
My only bright star (he died of AIDS)

Well I’m gonna march on Washington
Lead the fight and charge the brigades
There’s a hero inside of all of us
I’ll make them see everyone has AIDS

My father (AIDS!)
My sister (AIDS!)
My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS AIDS AIDS!)
The gays and the straights
And the white and the spades

Everyone has AIDS!
My grandma and my dog ‘ol blue (AIDS AIDS AIDS)
The pope has got it and so do you (AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS)
C’mon everybody we got quilting to do (AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS AIDS)
We gotta break down these baricades, everyone has
AIDS! x 20

[Neoliberalnot]

Apparently San Jose State offers a course on how to get stupidier by the minute.

[tips up]

Ask the Univ president if he or one his family members needed a blood transfusion, would he accept from a gay donor?

[RobRoy]

I still call it GRID.

[ECM]

Yeah, I just don’t get this. Forget the usual PC crap: gay men get AIDS and lots of other nasty diseases at a highly disproportionate rate compared to the general populace—this is a fact. I don’t understand how anyone can reasonably refute this.

Stuff like this makes me crazy!

[Tanniker Smith]

HA! That'll show that stinkin' FDA.
No BLOOD for Emergencies!
No BLOOD for Emergencies!

[Beowulf9]

Not to mention the new ‘superbug’ of mrsa among gay men.

http://www.thestar.com/living/Health/article/294641

“A new strain of the “flesh-eating” MRSA bacteria is spreading among gay men in San Francisco and Boston, says a research study published this week...”

[AbeKrieger]

Hey, what about those who have spent significant time in the United Kingdom in the past 5 years? They are “victims” too.

[DeFault User]

"The FDA's lifetime blood donor deferral affecting gay men violates our non-discrimination policy," said Kassing in an e-mail sent to faculty, staff and students.

I know Kassing will want to demonstrate his PC non-discrimination attitude by getting a transfusion from the first gay guy who walks in to donate.

Put your life where your mouth is, bro.

[w1andsodidwe]

Well there is good reason for this ban. Does anyone remember how Ryan White got aids? By tainted blood transfusions of course. In fact in that era many hemophiliacs died because of our refusal to limit who could donate blood.

Many people died after having an operation because of tainted blood. I guess they are too young to remember these horrors and thus want to repeat them.