BLOOD: Bias against donors

“I’m sorry but we cannot accept your lifesaving donation.”

Doesn’t this sound strange? Why would anyone wish to turn down a vital blood donation that can save 2-4 people? Well, if you happen to be LGBT+ this happens to you.

“Every day the Inland Northwest Blood Center needs 200 donors to ensure a safe supply of blood…” That is every single day they need on average 200 people to come in and give blood so that enough recipients can receive the blood they need to survive. The FDA currently has a ban in place that prohibits “Men who have had sex with other men…at any time since 1977…”

As some may remember, 1977 is the start of the AIDS epidemic in our nation that devastated lives and killed many people, heterosexual and homosexual alike. So this ban makes logical sense — if the year was 1977, but alas, the year is 2015 and testing for STIs is becoming increasingly better.

Additionally, according to the San Francisco AIDS Foundation, HIV is detectable “12 weeks (3 months) after infection, about 97 percent of people will have enough antibodies to test positive” using an antibody test; using an antigen test, “1-3 weeks after infection, there will be enough viral material for a positive result.” This ban is outdated and only hurts the ones who need blood the most, because a percentage of the population can’t donate. I encourage people to write letters to Gov. Otter and President Obama telling them this needs to be changed.

ALEXANDER KNOX

Hayden