[Vision2020] Moscow Community Blood Drive

[Melynda Huskey]

The guidelines for blood donation established by the Red Cross are a source 
of continuing concern, since they do automatically exclude any man who has 
had sex with another man even once since 1977, but do not similarly exclude 
others (male and female) who have been sexually active without barrier 
protection, even with multiple partners.

Nearly all national glbt organizations urge everyone who can to give blood, 
since there is a critical shortage nationwide, and at the same time to 
advocate for more epidemiologically sound donor guidelines through letters 
to the FDA and the Red Cross.

There aren't any race-based guidelines, although anyone who's lived in 
Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, 
Niger and Nigeria since 1977 cannot be a blood donor.

For lots of very complete information on donor eligibility, point your 
browser to

http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html

Give blood!  Advocate for fair and scientific donor guidelines!

Melynda

(Whose pathetic excuse for not giving blood is that it takes an average of 5 
tries to start an IV on my very weak, rolling, and pitiful veins, and I hate 
the bruising that follows.)



>From: "A Lesbian Trapped in a Man's Body" <thansen at moscow.com>
>To: Tbertruss at aol.com, carlwestberg846 at hotmail.com, dgray at uidaho.edu,   
>donovanarnold at hotmail.com, bmerkle at nsa.edu, vision2020 at moscow.com
>Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Moscow Community Blood Drive
>Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2004 18:49:32 GMT
>
>Wait a minute ! ! !
>
>To think that if I were dying and absolutely required a blood transfusion 
>to
>survive, I might receive the blood of a gay person?????
>
>What might this lead to?
>
>Ferns in my living room?
>
>Color coordinating my wardrobe?
>
>An inexplicable desire to listen to movie soundtracks?
>
>Hey!  Looking into my closet I see that I desperately need some fashion 
>sense.
>Besides I can use some different music to offset Black Sabbath's "War 
>Pigs".
>
>This might be a good idea after all.
>
>Go ahead, Doc.  Hook me up.  My living room needs a change of scenery and 
>my
>clothes are a bit outdated.
>
>Tom "I am" Hansen
>
>
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