U.S.A. RETAINS BAN ON HOMOSEXUALS DONATING BLOOD

July 2010

APN Newsletter

The federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety and Availability (ACBSA) has voted 9-6 to maintain current rules, which effectively forbid practicing homosexuals from donating blood. The rules forbid any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, approximately the beginning of the AIDS outbreak, from donating blood. The role of the advisory panel is to offer non-binding advice to the federal Department of Health and Human Services. Eighteen Democrat Senators had asked the FDA to end its "discriminatory" ban, arguing that blood tests can detect HIV.


"Common sense has triumphed over political correctness, a rare but very welcome occurrence," said the Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg in response. "This panel heard the latest research on HIV risks in the blood supply, but in the end they recognized that there is no alternative screening policy that can be shown to maintain the safety of the nation's blood supply."  The indefinite ban on homosexuals began in 1983, before the availability of tests for HIV. A spokesman for the FDA confirmed however that current tests for HIV can fail to detect all infected donors.  

In his testimony before the ACBSA, Sprigg said "I understand that there are many people who wish to advance the socio-political goal of winning greater acceptance of homosexuality. However, the blood donation policy does not exist to serve socio-political purposes, nor should it be changed to advance them."  He concluded: "Only the scientific evidence matters, and it indicates that the current policy should remain in place. It is not about bias against homosexuals it is about maintaining what is best for public health."

According to the Centre for Disease Control, homosexuals are estimated to account for only 4% of the U.S. male population, however the rate of new HIV diagnoses among them is more than 44 times that of other men. They account for more than half of all new HIV infections each year. Although new HIV infections are declining both among heterosexuals and injection drug users, they have been steadily increasing among homosexuals since the early 1990s. Homosexuals also have greater rates of syphilis and other sexually transmitted diseases than do heterosexuals.

Source: LifeSiteNews.com