In the wake of the tragedy in Las Vegas, people have been lining up to donate their blood to help those in need. Former NSYNC member Lance Bass, however, politicized the issue by pointing out that gay people cannot donate blood.
In a tweet on Monday, Bass, who is gay, made the blood donations about himself, mentioning that it is “STILL illegal” for gays to donate blood to the Red Cross:
How is it STILL illegal for gays to donate blood??!! I want to donate and I'm not allowed. 😤
— Lance Bass (@LanceBass) October 3, 2017
Other gay men and gay rights activists shared similar concerns on Twitter:
rly wish i could donate my gay blood
— elijah daniel (@elijahdaniel) October 2, 2017
It is 2017.
— Mario (@mtehuitz) October 3, 2017
We've had multiple humanitarian crises and mass shootings.
And gay folks still cannot immediately donate blood.
It is 2017. https://t.co/RC5LDTxI3r
It infuriates me that gay & bisexual men can be turned away from donating blood in Las Vegas because of the @US_FDA's discriminatory policy.
— Shane Bitney Crone (@ShaneBitney) October 2, 2017
In 1983, the FDA issued a complete ban on men from donating blood if they’ve ever had sex with another man. In 2015, the restriction was eased: men who have had sex with men are prohibited from donating blood if they’ve had sex with men in the past 12 months.
The 12-month ban on gay men from donating blood comes from the rate of HIV in the gay community. According to the CDC, in 2015, gay and bisexual men made up 82 percent of all new HIV diagnosis among men over 13. Gay men over 13 accounted for 67 percent of new HIV diagnosis in 2015. The CDC fact sheet on "HIV among Gay and Bisexual Men" says men who have sex with men accounted for 56 percent of the 1.1 million people with HIV as of 2014.
The CDC notes, “A much higher proportion of gay and bisexual men are living with HIV compared to any other group in the United States. Therefore gay and bisexual men have an increased chance of having an HIV-positive partner.” The CDC also states that approximately 15 percent of people did not know they were infected with HIV at the end of 2015.
According to HIV i-Base, 99.7 percent of people will have the antibodies to test positive for HIV at 90 day, or three month, period. When reviewing the commonly used rapid antibody test, the San Francisco AIDS Foundation states, “It takes your body up to 3 months to produce these antibodies at levels that can be detected by this test.”
Therefore, given the general three-month window to test positive for HIV, and promiscuity within the gay community, the CDC’s ban on gay men who have had sex with men makes scientific sense.
When defending Bass’s comments, however, People.com played dumb. They stated that, for some unknown reason, “There is no deferral for a woman who has had sex with another woman, the individual therefore eligible to donate blood. The same applies to individuals who identify as transgender or intersex.”
Clearly, under People.com’s logic, the only cause for the ban must be discrimination.
However, there are plenty of people who are ineligible to donate blood for reasons that have nothing to do with sexuality: anyone who weighs under 110 pounds, anyone who has sickle cell, and anyone who has had a tattoo in the past 12 months in a state that does not regulate tattoo facilities.
Of course, no one is crying discrimination against thin people in response to the Red Cross’s ban.
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