Help lift the ban on gay men donating blood

[FetishKitten]

http://bloodban.co.uk/

During my week off I went with my partner to the local blood drive, he was donating blood for the first time in a few years and I was going as moral support *Oi! Says himself, we were doing other things too…moral support…grumble grumble…* fine fine…and we were doing other things afterwards too. They give you forms to fill in, and also a folder of things to read, Dos, Do nots, Ifs and Buts…the usual legal jargon. When I got about a 5th of the way through I stopped…I read something that I couldn’t quite believe.

You are not allowed to give blood IF you are a man that has had oral or anal sex with another man in the last 12 months, even if you used a condom. AND if you are a woman that has had sex with a man that has had oral or anal sex with another man in the last 12 months.

Excuse me…but the last time I checked it is just as likely for straight men and women to contract HIV as it is for gay men and women!
[color=#FF0000]
This is a myth that refuses to die!” http://www.thebody.com/content/whatis/art32330.html

I was utterly stunned, I hadnt known that the NHS take this stance and I was ashamed that I didnt know! I was resolute that I was going to go home, and write up an official complaint and get an explanation from them, and then in the Metro London newspaper the next day I found an article mimicking my view precisely.

“A ban that stops gay and bisexual men giving blood should be overhauled, say campaigners.
BloodBan.co.uk says current guidelines are outdated and discriminatory and stop millions of people saving lives. Currently, men who have had sex with other men cannot give blood because they are deemed to be more at risk of passing on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
BloodBan.co.uk is campaigning for people to sign a petition which it will present to the NHS Blood Donor Committee and Prime Minister later this year.
Campaign founder Russell Hirst criticised the policy as ‘outdated, hypocritical and not based on recent scientific fact’.
He said an alternative would be to require gay and bisexual donors to be tested for STDs beforehand and bring an ‘all clear’ certificate with them when giving blood. Lifting the ban would dramatically increase depleted blood stocks, he added. A National Blood Service spokesman said the ban was justified and had been ‘extremely successful’ in reducing risk of HIV transmission via blood transfusions.
He said evidence showed that gay and bisexual men were still ‘at an increased risk’ of catching blood-borne STDs including HIV. But gay rights activist Peter Tatchell said the ban was ‘driven by stereotypes about gay male behaviour’.”

After finding this article I went onto the BloodBan.co.uk website and signed their petition. I’m going to make a permanent link for it on my side bar. I urge you all to go read up on HIV and also go sign the petition here
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/656253912[/color]

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