Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

Column: FDA rules on blood unfair
By Diana Nielsen
Daily Northwestern, Northwestern U.
May 11, 2009

When I attempted to give blood two years ago, that I could not do so because I had spent too much time outside of the United States. Since I have spent more than five years cumulatively over the course of my life out of this country, it is statistically more likely that I would have contracted foot and mouth disease.

While I'm pretty sure I would know by now if I had mad cow disease, and don't feel like I've spent enough time on cow farms in Europe to have contracted it, my living in the region of the world in which the disease was most prevalent when it first broke out makes it reasonable for me to be precluded from donating blood.

However, the FDA policy which bans men who sleep with men from donating blood does not seem reasonable to me.

The FDA says, "Men who have had sex with other men, at any time since 1977 (the beginning of the AIDS epidemic in the United States) are currently deferred as blood donors. This is because MSM are, as a group, at increased risk for HIV, Hepatitis B and certain other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion."

This policy was passed in 1985 in response to panic surrounding the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic - which, yes, spread initially very quickly in the gay male population. I do not mean to suggest this policy wasn't a necessary precaution to a real medical danger in 1985, but the policy was reviewed in 2007 - when the FDA decided to retain the ban.

At one time, when our knowledge of AIDS was less concrete and technology to test for HIV remained far more limited, this policy made sense. However, the policy as it stands now is only substantiated by the stereotype that gay men are promiscuous and spread HIV. It is inappropriate to retain a policy based on such a stereotype - one that in itself is a defacement of the gay male population - when policymakers have access to an extensive body of scientific research showing the remarkable efficacy of blood donor screening technology.

Current blood donor screening technology can detect accurately and precisely if blood is HIV-positive at the earliest stages of infection. Admittedly, the most current blood donor testing technology is still vulnerable to a three-week 'window period' after infection during which the HIV virus would not be detected. However, today that 'window' is now a matter of days - not years.

Moreover, HIV infection is no longer a problem limited to the gay community. There is no reason to not install a one-month ban on donation after engaging in any kind of risky sexual behavior to avoid this window period, after which the HIV virus would be detected.

The current FDA policy does not distinguish between gay men who engage in risky sexual behavior and those who are in stable, monogamous relationships. This blanket categorization of gay men as promiscuous is not only discriminatory, but also unnecessary.

Since its inception, blood donation has become an integral part of the American medical system. With Americans getting increasing numbers of procedures requiring blood transfusions - such as bypass surgeries, c-sections and joint replacements - an increasing demand is placed on the blood donation system. The risk that on any given day, a patient may not have access to the blood they need is increasingly high.

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