Allow Gays to Give Blood

On the American Red Cross survey screening for potential blood donors, there exist many questions used to screen out people who are engaged in activities that would make them at high risk for transmitting HIV and other blood borne diseases. Two of these questions specifically question about men having sex with men. These questions are of concern to us because they seem to perpetuate the myth that AIDS is a homosexual disease.

The exact wording of the questions is as follows:
14. Are you a male who has had sex, even once, with another male since 1977?
27. Are you a female who, in the past 12 months, has had sex with a male who as had sex, even once, with another male since 1977?

There are no questions specifically regarding HIV or STD testing, or any other questions asking about sexual practices other than those involving I.V. drug users or sex workers. These questions would allow a heterosexual who has had unprotected sex of any kind (anal, oral, or gentital) with multiple partners to give blood whereas a male who has had protected sex with only one man would not be permitted. We feel that because these questions target a preference rather than specific practices, they are discriminatory towards gay men. We propose that these questions be revised to ask about specific sexual practice, testing, and promiscuity, which would target MORE high risk groups while not discriminating against gay men.

Suggestions for questions are:

*Have you ever engaged in unprotected anal sex?
If yes, have you been tested for STD's since this encounter? How soon after the encounter?
*Have you had more than 5 sexual partners in the last year?
*Do you frequently engage in unprotcted sex with partners with little or no known sexual history?

Thank you for considering our concerns.