In this country where political correctness reigns supreme, I can only guess that the reason gay men are not allowed to donate blood is that the math and science must indicate the the risk is too great.
Yet some still rail on against it.
In Jason's comments section, a reader mentions a gay columnist who had the courage to disclose the truth. I found the article - A bloody disgrace by Richard Burnett.
It closes with this line:
A ban on gay blood will continue to save lives. And just one life is worth it.
Straight (?) from the horse's mouth, as it were.
It's interesting how we are getting all this man-on-man sex pumped at us in the media lately, but when it comes down to it, there continues to be some medical issues about safety.
I know those on the left will have a field-day with this post. I have been purposely avoiding this issue for a while. However, some things need to be heard.
Like the truth.
11 comments:
Have these folks forgotten how the tainted blood fiasco came about ? It certainly was not caused by straight blood donors !
It certainly was not caused by straight blood donors !
Well, I'm not sure about that. However, they have an obligation to do their best to safeguard the blood supply.
Excellent post!
I rarely read Jason's blog. I find the ignorance he displays on the most basic issues grating.
I just wrote the following post on it though. I know he moderates comments and I will probably not go back to see if he publishes it.
"As someone who has two gay brothers (one who passed away from AIDS in 1993), I must say that the illogic of this post disturbs me.
Gay men are not singled out from giving blood. All people who are at high risk for HIV are excluded. It is not about certainty; it is about high risk and trying to minimize it. Given that the tests are imperfect it is all we can do to save lives. And that is the goal.
Sadly, HIV/AIDS is one of the most politicized issues of our times. The ignorance of your post proves it. You put political correctness ahead of truth and that is when people die.
Did you learn nothing from last weeks report concerning the way the UN misled people on HIV? Even Stephen Lewis acknowledged it.
What you prove in this post is that you care nothing about saving lives and helping your fellow human being. You only care about ideology and politically correct appearances. My brother died based on a lack of knowledge about the disease and how that correlated with his sexual behaviour. But that was the eighties. There was an excuse then.
You have no excuse. You merely turn a blind eye to death so you can reap the rewards of a politically correct culture.
Your post does not make you a friend of the gay community. By denying truth, it makes you quite the opposite."
Heavens, we are becoming a perpetually offended society!
As a long-time blood donor, I wish those non-gay leftists would just donate blood more often instead of risking people's lives with this politically-correct nonsense.
It seems to me that Richard Burnett is courageous in coming forth with the truth about the safety of accepting gay blood to the national blood bank.
He is to be commended for his concern for the health of the average Canadian.
I wish that more gays would get their heads out of the anger against people who believe that God
knows best and live according to that belief.
We are trying our best to let gays live the way they choose but when one of their own has the courage to stand up for what is best for the Canadian people as a whole they feel he is a traitor to their cause.
He is not a traitor but is struck by what is best for us as a people as a whole to survive and to love and prosper together.
That is what is needed to rise above the hatred and unite and look for the best for the people as a whole.
Stop taking sides acting like it is a fight to extinguish the other side and realize that we are all human beings trying to live and love according to our inner beliefs and accept and love them first as human beings.It seems to me that Richard Burnett is courageous in coming forth with the truth about the questions of safety of accepting gay blood to the national blood bank.
He is to be commended for his concern for the health of the average Canadian.
I wish that more gays would get their heads out of the anger against people who believe that God
knows best and live according to that belief.
We are trying our best to let gays live the way they choose but when one of your own has the courage to stand up for what is best for the Canadian people as a whole they feel he is a traitor to their cause.
He is not a traitor but is struck by what is best for us as a people as a whole to survive and to love and prosper together.
That is what is needed to rise above the hatred and unite and look for the best for the people as a whole.
Stop taking sides acting like it is a fight to extinguish the other side and realize that we are all human beings trying to live and love according to our inner beliefs and accept and love them first as human beings.
Nicol, thanks for that heartfelt post, and the courage it took to write it. I'm so sorry about your brother.
My wife is nearing the 100 donation mark. She can not give if she has just been to the dentist. She can not give if she has just had a flu shot or if her hemoglobin is low. She is screened every time she has an appointment - it is for Her protection as well as the recipient of her blood.
WCT
WCT - Well put. thanks.
-------------
BTW, I have to be a bit more careful about comments allowed to this post, so if anyone wonders why I haven't allowed theirs, chances are that I felt it was a bit too extreme in tone.
Great comment, Mary! I think that ended up being a double-post, but no problem. Your message was worth repeating. ;)
The safety of the blood supply must trump political correctness every time, and this despite (or because of?) an unfortunate occurance that happened to me about 7-8 years ago. I had been a regular blood donor (I was up to about 66 donations), but was shocked when a couple weeks after a donation I received a registered letter from Canadian Blood Services. Apparently one of my blood samples that was tested for HIV came back positive. Following their suggestion, I made an appointment for a follow-up test 8 weeks later. That test confirmed what I knew all along, that I was the victim of a false positive. How did it happen? I was informed that the testing is so sensitive that false positives are not exactly unheard of. Nevertheless, because I just once tested positive for HIV (no how false a positive it was) I am now ineligible to donate blood. Was I disappointed? You bet. However, I concur with the decision. CBS absolutely must err on the side of caution. Lives are at stake. People not only have a right to a safe supply of blood and blood products, but they have a right to be sure that the supply is safe.
Post a Comment