tomjen3: Gay women are the lowest risk demographic when it comes to HIV contraction, so I don't take issue with their inclusion.
The problem, as I see it, is that most countries place an unreasonable bias against _all_ gay men rather than _some_ gay men. The appropriate way to handle donor screenings is to ask about sexual behavior in general, such as whether or not you are monogamous, how many partners in the past year/two years/five years, how often condoms are used, etc.
Instead, we blatantly exclude all gay men but do not exclude other high risk demographics. For example, black women are eligible despite being an extremely high risk group compared to white women (1 in 58 vs 1 in 588, respectively).
Unfortunately, the FDA is so afraid of alienating existing donors by asking them for a sexual history profile that they would rather stick to the status quo and continue excluding gays altogether.
Unfortunately, the FDA is so afraid of alienating existing donors by asking them for a sexual history profile that they would rather stick to the status quo and continue excluding gays altogether.
Which could actually make sense. If (if!) it's correct that asking about sexual history would alienate existing donors, and if (if!) it would alienate enough to compromise the blood supply, it might be "safer" to keep the current rules in place instead of trying to be somehow more objectively "fair".
The problem, as I see it, is that most countries place an unreasonable bias against _all_ gay men rather than _some_ gay men. The appropriate way to handle donor screenings is to ask about sexual behavior in general, such as whether or not you are monogamous, how many partners in the past year/two years/five years, how often condoms are used, etc.
Instead, we blatantly exclude all gay men but do not exclude other high risk demographics. For example, black women are eligible despite being an extremely high risk group compared to white women (1 in 58 vs 1 in 588, respectively).
Unfortunately, the FDA is so afraid of alienating existing donors by asking them for a sexual history profile that they would rather stick to the status quo and continue excluding gays altogether.