This headline made me smile, but the fine print means that it's, well, not true:
...the group recommended that men be barred from donating for only a year after having had sex with another man, treating them the same as other groups at increased risk for spreading sexually transmitted virus through donated blood.So, if you're in a committed relationship, and having sex with one man, that still disqualifies you. (Unless you give up sex for a year, in which case, good luck maintaining that committed relationship!) I'm not clear on how this will promote an increase in blood donation. How many gay men are running around who (a) are waiting to give blood and (b) haven't had sex in more than a year? Isn't that the bad rap on us--that all we do is chase each other's tails?
Really, the headline should be, "FDA to Review Ban on Men Who Got Drunk That One Time Donating Blood," because they're the only ones this would impact. Which is too bad, because I'm sure there are plenty of monagamous gay men, myself included, who would be happy to give blood if anyone would take it.
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