FDA Keeps Ban On Gay Men As Blood Donors

[Dr.Who]

Before giving blood, all men are asked if they have had sex, even once, with another man since 1977. Those who say they have are permanently banned from donating. The FDA said those men are at increased risk of infection by HIV that can be transmitted to others by blood transfusion

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Ok so it doesn't discriminate against gays. It discriminates against any man who has had sex with another man. That man may be gay but he may also be bi or just experimenting or raped. So it is not about gayness. In fact a gay man who has not had sex with another man is perfectly able to donate.

In a document posted Wednesday, the FDA said it would change its policy if given data that show doing so wouldn't pose a "significant and preventable" risk to blood recipients.

This seems reasoable. They just want to see the data.

The FDA said HIV tests currently in use are highly accurate, but still cannot detect the virus 100 percent of the time. The estimated HIV risk from a unit of blood is currently about one per 2 million in the United States, according to the agency.

So currently under the present rules the rate is one per 2 mill. What would the rate be if they did not have some rules to pull out high risk people.

And is it really any sort of a right to donate blood? Are these people who could just lie anyway really so concerned about their right to donate blood or are they concerned about the bad image it puts onto gay people even if it might make the blood supply less safe?