I have donated blood five times so far in the almost two years I've been eligible to. I find it to be a rewarding experience and I love knowing that I have helped save lives. Each time I go in to donate I have to read the packet that explains who is or isn't eligible to donate blood, and each time I am horrified to see that gay men are on the deferral list.
At one point in recent history, men who had sexual contact with men were barred from donating blood for life. It wasn't until 2016 that the FDA attempted to make the law more modern. Except, all they did was place men who have sex with other men on a deferral list, meaning they have to wait 12 months after having sexual contact with another man to donate blood because of the risk that they may transfer HIV or AIDS in their donation.
In the US, gay and bisexual men do account for 82% of HIV diagnoses according to aids.gov, but that shouldn't place them on a deferral list. 1.2 million Americans may be living with HIV and AIDS in America, but there are over 321 million Americans. That means only roughly .37% of Americans actually have HIV or AIDS.
Meanwhile, an estimated 4.5 million people are saved with blood transfusions each year in the US, or 1.4%. That is 3.75 times more people who need help than people who have AIDS. When that many people need our help, we can't afford to stop others from helping.
Every two seconds, someone needs a transfusion, imagine how many more lives could be saved each year if we stopped putting gay or bisexual men on a deferral list.
Heterosexual people run the same risk of contracting HIV, especially in places like Seattle where the heroin epidemic is at an all-time high.
I understand the risks with donating blood, HIV can't be picked up during testing for 3 months, but it is not just gay or bisexual men who carry the risk of infecting others.
If you're going to place men who have sex with men on a deferral list, why don't we just place all people who have sex on that deferral list? I mean, after all there's a .37% chance that person may be carrying the AIDS virus.
