It Made Me Feel Dirty

He gets credit for asking. However, let's hope he asks all of this patients if they are sexually active and runs the tests on all of his patients. Otherwise, he's out of step with the current practice.

 

If they don't want my blood, im not going to go out of my way to give it too them..

They don't want it - their loss! It's kind of hypocritical saying there is a huge need for blood donations and here us gays go to do our good deed and get turned away... hmmmmm i guess the blood isnt in THAT high of a demand :S

 

Down here they don't discriminate against sexuality for giving blood, but they make everyone undergo screening for the major blood diseases like HIV.
Try not to feel bad about it, things should change eventually I hope over there.

 

I don't get free tickets or anything for donating. I love to Donate. Why? I don't know, I just know it's a good thing. And I love how whenever there is a thread about Donating Blood, the same old stuff just gets repeated over and over, because you know, We're the ones to complain to you know? (Incase you couldn't tell over this miraculous invention we have called the Internet, that was Sarcasm)

So like. Why must the same thread discussion repeat in every thread in which the first post contains the words "Blood" "Donation" and "Gay"? It's ridiculous to the point of annoying.

 

Well in Florida, they have incentives for donating. Free tickets to movies, free $10-$25 gift certificates to Darden restaruants, free shirts, theme parke discounts etc. So yeah they are free as long as you meet their requierments which are in discussion.

 

Sounds like you have anger issues, which are swaying your attitude on the subject, you need to deal with.

 

All you have to do is click the little box that says no. Like someone said before donating blood isn't a time to be out and proud. Just go, tell a little lie, donate your blood, and continue on with your day as a gay man. It's not like if you say no you've never had sex with another man then they're gonna say "Well prove it". It's an old regulation that the majority of the people who actually work at the red cross don't even care about, so it's not like you're going to be kicked out of the blood drive because they speculate that you might be a homo. I'm a virgin but I still plan to donate well after I have sex, because at the end of the day it's not for the people who set up the rule that says you have to ask if the person has had sex with another man. It's for people who are in hospitals around the world dying and in need of blood. They aren't sitting in the emergency room saying "make sure the blood you give me isn't from a gay man" they just want whatever will help them be alive, and I'm proud to be able to help save a life.


Also I know someone who works at the Red Cross here in my area, and I found out that half of the blood collected at my schools blood drive about a year ago had to be thrown out because it was tested and found to be HIV+. It's a very eye opening thing, very sad too since the majority of people who donated were actual students.

 

That REALLY sucks... I wanted to give blood but they said gay people can't give blood.

 

Well in one manner, at least one can find out if they have HIV by just donating blood, but man that would be a crappy way to find out you know? I always get tested, and I never have sex with someone I don't know either (condomed or otherwise, but about 99.9% of the time it's protected). While there's always a chance the guy could not know, still it's better to do with a friend someone you've known for a long time.

 

My story is a little bit sadder... I had just come out to my father and a few months after that one of his coworkers got sick and needed surgery. So I went to the clinic and said I wanted to donate blood and unwittingly answered truthfully. Of course they said I couldn't donate blood, I told them they were discriminating and that I would contact my lawyer to initiate a class action suit against them (empty threat if there ever was one...)

My father knew I was going to donate blood and he called me a few hours later and asked how it went, so I again unwittingly answered truthfully (this is to become one of my greatest weaknesses in life, but that is not important now, I've since learned to lie rather well). He was really upset, at first I thought he was outraged for the same reasons I was, and then he asked: 'But they won't tell anyone, right?'... it was then I realized that he feared his coworkers would find out I was gay (when actually one of his coworkers had introduced me to my boyfriend at that time). This ensued a big argument (one of many).

A few weeks after that, I found out that an ex (my first sexual partner, actually) was HIV+. And we had had unprotected sex (stupid, I know... In my defense he said he was a virgin when we met... I've since learned to not blindly trust people). The last time had been less that two months before... so I was still in a high risk window. I got tested, waited for four more months and got tested again and get tested every 6 months now. Still negative. And It's safe to say I've since learned my lesson and never had unprotected sex again.

Some years later (last year, actually) a friend's father got sick and needed surgery. They were asking for 0- donors (which are rather rare). Since I'm 0- and I was comfortable with my latest results (and hadn't had sex in a while, in fact, I was going through a bit of a dry spell) I went ahead and lied in the screening questions.

I still get offended when they ask those questions, and I am not donating blood unless it's for someone I care about and I'm certain I'm HIV- and don't have hepatitis.

As for regulations... they are regulations... and laws are always 482 steps behind reality. I'm not saying it's ok, I'm only saying change takes time. And perhaps LGTB communities should start pressuring for this... but how can they when there are still a lot of bigger issues?

If you ask me, I think that not getting kicked out of bars for kissing with your same sex lover, not getting beat up by the cops or some angry mob while walking with your same sex lover, not getting stones thrown at you... those are priorities... blood... well... in *real* emergencies we can always lie or the can change the regulations...

Funny sidenote: In paraguay there's a regulation preventing anyone under 18 from donating blood. However, back in 2004 when that supermarket burnt up and there was a dire need for blood... most restrictions were revoked. So anyone over 50Kg could donate blood, however, if they'd had gay sex, they couldn't... figures. Gay Rights movement in paraguay is weak at best, but still.

 

When my school had a blood drive at our campus, i was totally excited to donate blood (which i dnt understand bcus i hate needles), but i was just happy that i wud b helping others. When i was filling out the forms i came across that same question and i was totally shocked to see it. I never knew they asked those types of questions when u want to donate blood, so i just ripped my form and threw it away bcus i felt hurt in a way. There i was trying to do sumthing nice, but apparently they wudnt let me for being gay? I was very upset, and it ddin't help that one of the people who worked with the blood drive kept looking at me weird like he knew i was gay or sumthing. I didn't get to donate blood and i didn't want to lie, so i just blew it off. It just sickens me that that even matters when u want to donate blood. I dnt think it shud, but hey i dnt make the rules!:dry:

 

Wow, I had no idea about this! I think it's just sad.

 

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