I can't give blood either but it's because I have been to Iraq in the last 365 days.
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Iraq is on the list of countries that are considered dangerous to have lived in.
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I was living in San Francisco when 9-11 hit. They were airing all these tv spots to donate blood, we need blood, running low on blood. So I did my duty and rode my bicycle thru dangerous downtown traffic to the Red Cross. I sit down and am asked to fill out a long form.
I give them my form and wait 15 mins to be called and I sit down with rolled up sleeves and they tell me they cant take my blood because I checked one box.
I would have appreciated a large sign out front "No Gay Blood" so I wouldnt have wasted my patriotic duties.
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Before I went into the army, I'd given blood. When I was in the army, I gave blood. No one asked me whether I was gay or not, and whether I'd had any gay sex.... Then, the Aids crisis struck and I no longer thought it was safe to give my blood even though I was pretty sure I hadn't exposed myself to the virus in any way. I just stopped giving blood. Now that I am in a gay relationship, I CAN'T give blood, apparently, even though my status is probably safer than a lot of heteros' out there. But if you remember there was a great scandal in France about contaminated blood transfused into haemophiliacs... A HUGE scandal. I know there are other groups that aren't supposed to give blood and that the blood banks routinely turn away. But I really don't understand why they can't just test all the blood that comes in, routinely. Maybe it's something to do with costs? In any case, I certainly feel discriminated against.
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okay, signed !
I'm number 180 :tongue:
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Allowing gay men to give blood
