Posted on 06/20/2016 4:23:17 PM PDT by Faith Presses On
...
Blood supply experts say the FDA will need to determine whether the move to a one-year waiting period for gay and bisexual men made the blood supply less, more or just as safe.
That effort will take several years, and only then would the agency be able to consider relaxing its restrictions further, said Brian Custer, who has led a number of studies on the nation's blood supply and is associate director of the Blood Systems Research Institute (BSRI) in San Francisco.
Removing the waiting period altogether would also likely require a large-scale study that tested blood samples of people who would be banned under current criteria, said Dr. Michael Busch, a co-director of BSRI. Busch helped discover in the 1980s that HIV could be transmitted through blood transfusions.
...
In the past 12 years, as many as six people have been infected with HIV through blood transfusion in the United States, according to Dr. Richard Benjamin, a former chief medical officer of the American Red Cross.
...
One study by FDA researchers published in January suggested that dropping all donor restrictions on men who have sex with men would result in 31 more units of HIV-infected blood being missed by screening tests and entering the blood supply each year. Nearly 16 million blood donations are collected in the United States each year, according to the American Red Cross.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Ban on gay men giving blood 'discriminatory': Murray, Cantwell, other senators, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Tammy Baldwin leads call to lift one-year blood donation ban for gay, bisexual men, Madison Capital Times:
"They noted in the letter that for many healthy gay and bisexual men, a one-year ban since last sexual contact is, in effect, a lifetime ban. They also argue such a policy perpetuates inaccurate stereotypes.
"They instead are asking the FDA to implement new policies that are "grounded in science, based on individual risk factors, don’t unfairly single out one group of individuals, and allow all healthy Americans to donate."
Dems seek end to ban on gay blood donors after Orlando; White House mum, Fox News:
"Lawmakers made their case to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Robert Califf in a letter sent Tuesday.
"The letter from Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., vice chairman of the House LGBT Equality Caucus, and five colleagues said the Orlando “tragedy, more than any other, shines a light on the need for a permanent reversal” of the policy.
...
"We are concerned the 12-month deferral policy, which suggests that the sexual relationships of [gay] men and transgender women inherently pose a risk of HIV transmission, furthers a stigma that we have persistently fought to eliminate,” the lawmakers wrote. “The FDA questionnaire should reflect risk-based behaviors as opposed to sexual orientation.”
Junkies should be allowed to donate too!
Arkansas Bloodsuckers, The Clintons, Prisoners and The Blood Trade
The squalid tale of Bill Clinton and the deadly prisoner blood program has never gotten the attention it demands. Thousands of people dying horrible deaths because Bill Clinton and friends sold contaminated blood. I notice that the article refers to Vince Foster’s role as a political fixer for the Clintonistas.
They weren’t the only politicians involved in the tainted blood dealings.
The whole thing kind of strikes home to me. I had problems when I was young one of them being sudden and long lasting nose bleeds. In Jr. high I was put in a group that didn’t fit in with rest of the students hemophiliacs and disabled students. we became quite a group. All my friends who were hemophiliacs died during the tainted blood deal. So you might say I have a bone or two to grind.
Tainted blood supplies are quite personal to me, too. As a cancer survivor I’ve received at least 8-9 units of blood after surgeries and severe chemo. And, ofc, all of us know people who have had major surgeries etc. So to know that there are politicians so willing to play Clinton Roulette with our lives is quite enraging.
(even if the Arkansas blood was headed abroad, the immorality of it all is just as disgusting, of course)
Why? Is there a big f******demand for blood. Are we at war?
Oh, I see. $$$$$ selling abroad?
That’s the ultimate ‘sucking’ us dry.
When it comes to the medical industry Mrs. Fella has a saying:
Suck you dry
Until you die
Ben Franklin had a saying about not making a doctor your heir.
As a regular blood donor, I have always wondered about that question related only to males. How come sodomy with females is never a problem? I admit I am clueless when it comes to medical issues, but with that vast understanding of medicine I would apply the question to sodomy with either sex. I sure wish someone would help my ignorance on this subject.
Having HIV leads to bone loss and subsequent fractures, heart attacks, and they age 14 years, and die 14 years earlier. I m sure there’s more problems, but Google makes it hard to find.
64% of all AIDS/HIV cases in the USA are among <3% of the population - men who have sex with men.
I say we can do without that segment of the population’s donations.
Discrimination is a wonderful thing to do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.