Facebook - Gay Blood Ban Debate.

[Genersis]

I thought i couldn't give blood because i was gay.
So i can as long as i'm a virgin?:confused:

And i have known about this stupid ban for a long time, Grrrr.:mad:
Sorry, i can't help because i don't use facebook, if i did join I fear i may meet people from my past better left forgoten.:frown:

[fredv3b]

There is a lifetime ban for any man who has had sex with another man. The rules don't say anything about gay or straight, gay men who are virgins can, straight men who once many years ago got drunk and ..... can't.

As far as I am aware no other risky behaviour gets one a lifetime ban.

[princealbertofb]

I know this is something about money... but it seems to me that if they really need the blood, it would make more sense to accept the blood and screen it and they set it aside for emergencies. I wonder how long they can keep blood?

[eastofeden]

I think the ban is due to the HIV virus not showing up immediately and they are trying to eliminate historical high risk donors...that does not mean gay men are necessarily any more high risk of course and I think their guidelines are ill advised as people do lie and straight people can gets AIDS and HIV just as easily as gay people can...they need a better system in place that can screen everyone and not discriminate due to sexual orientation. I am not on Facebook so I dont' think I can join the group but if I was I would.

[colinmackay]

There is a lifetime ban for any man who has had sex with another man. The rules don't say anything about gay or straight, gay men who are virgins can, straight men who once many years ago got drunk and ..... can't.

As far as I am aware no other risky behaviour gets one a lifetime ban.

Gay men who are virgins can.... But some officious people will attempt to ban them anyway because the don't understand the rules (or can't be bothered to understand them).

[colinmackay]

I think the ban is due to the HIV virus not showing up immediately and they are trying to eliminate historical high risk donors...that does not mean gay men are necessarily any more high risk of course and I think their guidelines are ill advised as people do lie and straight people can gets AIDS and HIV just as easily as gay people can...they need a better system in place that can screen everyone and not discriminate due to sexual orientation. I am not on Facebook so I dont' think I can join the group but if I was I would.

It would be fine if it was a short term ban, so that time for the virus to show up was accounted for. However, it is a lifetime ban in the UK!

[Boysstuff]

I know I'm not the brightest star in the sky......Gay Virgins..........I'm sooooooooo confused.:redface:

Ben, its not hard to understand I'm a smilie and I'm a gay virgin

[Lee]

i think its disgusting! im just about to start a medical career. so i cant give blood because im gay, but most days i will see people who really need blood? Im not too sure, but i think my blood type is one of the rarer ones aswell. i dont have HIV, and due to the nature of my future career i will be regularly screened for it, but still cant give blood?
Will this move on to organ donation, i am on the organ donation register, and have said they can have literally anything they want, im not going to need it when im dead, but im still not good enough to give blood? anyone else see double standards here?

I wouldnt mind but i remember a few years ago there was uproar over blood being imported from american prisons, now the prison population has a higher risk of HIV due to a large proportion of the inmates being IV drug users. It turned out the blood was not screened properly and a number of people did contract HIV due to this.

I dont use facebook so cant join sorry, but i very strongly support the campaign! good luck with it, what you are doing is brilliant! :biggrin:

[fredv3b]

I am sure it won't move on to organ donation. There are people dying for want of a donor organ, there aren't people dying for lack of a blood transfusion.

[Cryptique]

There is a lifetime ban for any man who has had sex with another man. The rules don't say anything about gay or straight, gay men who are virgins can, straight men who once many years ago got drunk and ..... can't.

As far as I am aware no other risky behaviour gets one a lifetime ban.

The ban isn't just against gay/bi-sexual men ... there's also a subsection which bans straight men from giving blood if they've had sex (protected or otherwise) with a woman who has had sex with a man that has had sex with another man...:confused:

does that make sense to anyone? cause i kind of confused myself trying to write it :redface: