Blood donor discrimination

Is there anything wrong with adding this sentence to the American blood bank guidelines:

"Have you ever had sex (penetrative or non) with anyone of African descent?"

Given that Black Americans are statistically more likely to be HIV positive than other groups?

Perfectly wrong. Suppose I go on holiday to Egypt and have a fling with someone there, does that mean I can't then give blood in the USA because African Americans are stitistically more likely to have the bad aids? Actually, by the logic of that rule, shouldnt all African Americans also be banned, regardless of their sexual activity?

And lets not pretend there are other diseases which would render teh blood unusable. Examine enough diseases, and youll find that every ethnicity has one that they are statistically more likely to have. Better ban everyone from giving blood eh?

I hate this question:

(If you are male) Have you ever had sex with another male?

Unfortunately, this is a grey area. I understand the need to protect those who receive the blood, but I also think that blood banks are making grave mistakes by excluding people so broadly. I mean... they screen bloodsamples for HIV after they take them...

Also, isn't there a particular blood antigen that some Africans express? By excluding Africans, wouldn't the amount of blood available to these people be reduced?
==Chris

The American Red Cross has this in the eligebility statement about Africans

You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

You are at risk for getting infected if you:

* were born in, or lived in, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea,Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria, since 1977.
* since 1977, received a blood transfusion or medical treatment with a blood product in any of these countries, or
* had sex with anyone who, since 1977, was born in or lived in any of these countries.

In-Depth Discussion of HIV Group O and Blood Donation

Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) is the virus that causes AIDS. The virus can be transmitted through blood transfusion, so all donor programs are required to question donors about possible HIV exposure, and to test donated blood for this virus.

There is a rare form of HIV called Type O that is found in western Africa. The available tests for HIV do not always detect the Type O strain. This means that blood programs must take special precautions to keep this virus out of the blood supply by not taking blood donations from those who have been where the virus is found.

Persons who were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger and Nigeria since 1977 cannot be blood donors. The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for supervising the safety of the American blood supply, put this requirement in place in 1996. The requirement applies to all blood donation programs, including that of the American Red Cross. The list of countries with HIV Type O risk is based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) where experts monitor infections worldwide.

It is possible that the tests used to screen donated blood may someday be improved so that they detect Type O HIV. If so, these donation restrictions may be removed.

They also ask you if you've eaten beef in Europe because of mad cow.

So what?

I'm not allowed to donate blood

I only weigh 95-98 lbs.

lucky, they bug the hell out of me for mine, i'm AB-

They ask you if you've lived in Europe during that period.

Not all African Americans are black, yanno.

-Kiamat Dusk

According to the most current theory, we're all of African descent! So only virgins can give blood?

All joking aside, as a gay man with an HIV positive partner I understand the ban on gay men giving blood. Don't like it, but understand it. The blood banks have to balance public relations, safety and other concerns. Banning African Americans would be a public relations nightmare and would probably drive away donors, while most likely not reducing the risk of HIV tainted blood. Gay men might be miffed (I know I am) about the ban, but we don't fight it.

For safety's sake, all blood must be rigorously tested for HIV and other blood born pathogens. Reducing the number of possible sources of tainted blood makes sense, but pissing off an entire ethnic group doesn't.

I think this is a very dangerous, but common misconception. There is a time window in which the donor may have HIV and the tests in use cannot detect it. That windows is getting ever smaller and is certainly less than a few months now and may be even less than a week.

Malaria, genital herpes, mono, sickle cell (though they have enough probs, I doubt they'd be giving their blood away)... any number of STDs can render a person's blood unusable for use by a blood bank; chemotherapy will do it too, tho why anyone in chemo would want to is a good question. One friend of mine got something from her husband that gives her cervical lesions - repeatedly -- I'm still wondering why she didn't do something drastic to him, like Bobbitt him. Evidently this can also be passed thru a blood transfusion, like malaria (which my dad picked up in Panama during his duty there in WWII, thus rendering him ineligible as a donor. Out of 4 people in my immediate family, at one point I was the only one who was still able to donate blood at a blood bank (and I'm as pasty-pale as you can get without being an albino).

Viruses are transmitted by blood, and those who engage in sexually risky behavior and then think they're doing everyone else a favor by donating blood are either morons or sadistic sociopaths.

Was just about to say that when I read the OP, great post!

That's a good question, assuming we add this new guideline, how do we judge it?

Do we hold up color samples and ask if you've had sex with anyone darker than this color? Or do we just rely on the donor's best guess (as they presumably do with other questions, e.g. have you ever had sex with someone who was born in or lived in Africa).

*holds up a Sherwin Williams paint wheel, what about this color?*

Groucho, the reason all these questions and statistics are derogatory, bigoted, and stupid, is becaue despite being factual, they try to link two things that aren't actually linked. Being african american does not give you HIV. Being gay does not give you HIV. Just because gays used to have higher instances of HIV, and african americans have higher instances of HIV, does not mean that being gay or african american gives you HIV. They are statistics of a phenomenon within a group, NOT statistics of a phenomenon caused by being a member of a group. A MUCH better question would have been, "Have you engaged in unsafe sex during the last few years?" or "have you had any medical treatment in third world countries in Africa in the last few years." THOSE are the things that cause HIV. Not being black, not being gay, and not any of the other stupid statistics trying to link two unrelated things.

So exactly what questions are you proposing, Rasah? (You don't need to provide the complete questionairre, but let's strike out every question that covers sex, and you fill in what should go in their place.) Please make sure you define the word "unsafe" if you include it.

Why don't they just ask, "Have you ever engaged in any activity that might promote infection of HIV or AIDS?"

Of course, then there would be a serious shortage.

LOL

Just shorten it to "Is your blood good?" It would save some time.

No kidding.

I know some gay men who are at lower risk for HIV contraction than the average straight person because they know the risk and are ferociously fastidious.

I know some straight (white) people who wouldn't surprise me by being patient zero in a new strain because they're so stupid in their habits.

It's hard to say, really, what questions would help - but asking what sort of sexual education one received might be a start. (I know a "health teacher" who said you couldn't get HIV or pregnant the first time around... I also knew at least one girl who died of AIDS thanks to her. [Needless to say, she's now unemployed.])

Um, yeah, what everyone else said. Basically, "Have you engaged in unsafe sex in the last year," or "did you do anything that may have caused body fluid transmition, such as unsafe sex or medical treatment, in any areas known to have high rates of HIV?"
NOT "Are you Gay?"

I think "Are you completely pig-ignorant about the facts about HIV and fluid transmission?" would be a good question, but it might put people on the defensive.

How about, "Are you Rick Santorum, or do you believe what Rick Santorum has told you about HIV on Fox News?"

Mr. "I think HIV can be transfered through tears."

What do you mean by "unsafe"? Is oral sex safe?

What are "areas known to have high rates of HIV"? You mean like San Francisco? or Nigeria? or a massage parlor?

You can't print up questions as vague as these and expect any consistent response. Please come up with specific questions that are reasonably well-defined. I can give you the current FDA approved list for reference if that helps.