serenity
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Before I offer my answer, I should say that there are no rules in UK that prohibit a person from giving blood specifically because of their sexuality. Quoting directly from the National Blood Service website, gay men may donate blood unless `You`re a man who`s had sex with another man, even safe sex using a condom`. So, they avoid blatant discrimination by disguising it to exclude what they regard as `dangerous sexual practices`.
For a long time now I have felt that this rule is disgusting, made worse by the way they try & avoid appearing as though they`re discriminating. I know many hetero-sexual people who give blood & whose sexual behaviour has been much more dangerous than mine. Before I met my partner & settled down, I was tested for AIDS & other STDs on regular basis. I only had unprotected sex once, & that was my first time, with someone who was also virgin & had never had a blood transfusion. That said, it was still foolish risk, but(!) that was seventeen years ago & I`ve been tested regularly since the age of eighteen. Even so, my blood is clean & I`ve been careful to keep it that way.
One of my friends, who is heterosexual, has had many more sexual partners than me & brags that he rarely uses a condom; He has twice had cause to fear that he might have been infected with a sexually transmitted disease, once HIV, once hepatitis, & he has impregnated 3 different women. He has been tested 3 times over the past fourteen years, first time only because I was going to be tested & he wanted to support me, other 2 when he was afraid he might be at risk.
He gives blood irregularly, but(!) has done so several times over past ten years; I have never been permitted to give blood, even though I have been careful & have rare blood type.
According to the National Blood Service, `Every single blood donation is tested for AIDS (the virus that causes AIDS) & hepatitis B & C; ` If that`s case then why should blood from gay men who have engaged in sexual activity with other men be excluded? However, the National Blood Service claims that `Research shows that completely removing the current exclusion on blood donation from men who have sex with men would result in a fivefold increase in the risk of HIV-infected blood entering the blood supply. `
And yet there would be no problem with me donating my organs in event of my death. Exactly the same tests are carried out, the only difference being that specialist will review my medical history, as they do with all potential donors, before declaring my organs suitable for donation. Make sense? Not to me either.
The National Blood Service claims that their policy is under regular review, but(!) there is no indication that they intend to change it. It is idiotic, bigoted & utterly illogical;
What makes it so much worse is that since 1999 rate of infection amongst heterosexuals has been higher in the UK than rates of infection amongst homosexuals. Now, I know that anal sex is the riskiest form of sexual activity when it comes to the transmission of STDs like HIV, but(!) considering more heterosexuals are infected every year, & blood is routinely screened, why are we considered higher risk group?
So yes, I do think it`s wrong that a man who has had sex with another man, even once, is excluded from giving blood. I think it`s offensive that even a hetero-sexual man who has been raped, even as a child, by another man cannot give blood, while women who have been raped are not excluded. I think it is an abomination & sooner the rule is changed the better
 Posted 747 days ago
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