Following the tragic events in Orlando, many members of the Gay Community offered to donate blood to help the injured and replenish depleted blood stocks, but were told that, due to their sexuality, they could not as they are considered an HIV risk.
Now whilst we at Affordable Leather Products agree that, of course, the blood donation authorities such as the NHS Blood and Transplant Service or NBS in the UK should take sensible precautions to ensure that blood products are not contaminated, there is a fundamental lack of equality in the way that the rules are applied.
Currently, in the UK, if you are a man who has had sexual relations with another man, even if it was only receiving oral sex and with a condom being used, the NBS says that you must not give blood for a year after that happening.
[bctt tweet=”A man who has had oral sex with another man cannot give blood for a year afterwards.”]
This is, in a way, an improvement on the old system since, prior to this, for many years after HIV was first known about, the rules said that you must NEVER give blood if you’d ever had sex with a gay man, even if it was 20 years ago, however it still doesn’t deal with the fundamental inequality.
Under the current rules, it is perfectly acceptable for a straight person to have unprotected sex with half a dozen members of the opposite sex and then continue to give blood as if nothing had happened. This is fundamentally ridiculous since the fact of the matter is that HIV happens in the straight community as well as the gay one.
[bctt tweet=”Straight people can have repeated unprotected sex and keep donating blood.”]
Not only that, but if you are a male blood donor and thus are considered as being safe to donate and you have sex with another male blood donor who, of course, is also considered safe to donate, then NEITHER of you will be able to donate for a year afterwards! A completely nonsensical situation we’re sure you’ll agree.
[bctt tweet=”Two male blood donors who have sex are BOTH blocked from donating for a year afterwards!”]
Today is World Blood Donor Day and the good news is that the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Blood Donation has announced a Parliamentary Inquiry into who can safely donate blood and you can find more information about it by clicking on that link.
[bctt tweet=”The All-Party Group on Blood Donation has announced an Inquiry into who can safely donate blood.”]
If you want to give blood and are eligible under the current rules, visit the NHS Blood and Transplant site to find your nearest session:
Are you a blood donor with gay or bisexual interests? Would you like to explore your sexuality, but have had to suppress those desires because to do so would compromise your ability to donate?
Or are you a gay man who has wanted to donate blood but been refused simply because of your sexuality?
Post your feelings and stories in the comments section below.
what a ridiculous state of affairs these people need to get their attitudes out of the 20th century
@Jodie We agree entirely. There are now preventative drugs which can stop someone from contracting HIV, yet some people still have the “gay plague” mindset from the 1980s 🙁