Poll: Do you agree with America's ban on gay men donating blood?

it's different if they have already tested the man and he has a virus or disease transferring trough his blood.

but just to say "no" to a openly gay man without a scientific or logical explanation... it's absurd

you can not tell who has HIV - or hepatitis by sexual orientation

people in high risk categories should be asked to self exclude and all blood should be screened

globally - more heterosexual people have hiv and hepatitis - so...by this logic, no one should give blood

oh - and how can you tell who is gay or not gay...

no - i don't agree, it is silly

Absolutely.

It should include lesbians and intravenous needle users too.

edit: It can take up to 6 months to detect the AIDS virus. So a homosexual could have it and not even know it while continuing to donate blood during those 6 months.

Just some food for thought...

No. The American Red Cross tries to garner sympathy for the "critically low blood supply", and tries to call you as soon as you are eligible to donate again. Heaven forbid you politely tell them "no, not right now" because then they'll call you every day until you either set up an appointment or tell them to never call you again. If they want to play all desperate for blood, they need to stop being so picky and accept gay people's blood so they can stop harassing straight people. Homosexuality is not transmitted through the blood. If a gay man lied on that question, they have no way of testing his sexuality and the donation would still be viable.

Lavender colored blood can't be good for you, can it?

I agree

I'm pretty sure all blood goes through rigorous tests when you donate. So the fact that AIDS occurs more frequently in gay men is irrelevant in my opinion.

If the blood is being tested regardless, why does it matter?

The odds of receiving a tainted blood donation in this day in age is VERY rare. These people are smart enough to understand how long it will take the AIDS virus to show up etc. I'm pretty sure there is an extensive procedure that the blood goes through that we are not aware of. Unless we're a doctor, we have no idea what we're talking about when it comes to this.

Honestly people if that's the case, soon black people won't be able to donate blood, the AIDS virus is more common in blacks too yah know. You guys are all missing the big picture.

I disagree.. whats different about a gay male's blood? can anyone tell me? if theres no difference, than whoever made the ban is willing to see dozens of people die from loss of blood because he/she is homophobic.

no!

It originates from the AIDS outbreak, which though you don't hear about as much anymore, is still a major issue since there are treatments but no cure. Yes, they test the blood, and its not exclusively a disease carried by gay males, but it is a numbers game played for public safety. They could try to tailor the questions a bit more to determine those in a higher risk category, but that still increases risk and the time involved in donations even though they are always in short supply of blood.

I'm fine with it.