Queer Blood

Today the world commemorates World AIDS Day, and I'm wearing my little red ribbon. Remember back in elementary school when you had to wear the red ribbon for a week to show the world that you thought drugs were bad? Then a few months later you wore more red ribbons to support Mothers Against Drunk Driving? Then when you won second place at the science fair, they gave you another red ribbon? Sheesh!

No one ever told us why we had to wear the ribbons. It was more of a "yours is not to reason why..." kind of deal whenever the kiddies asked why they had to do anything. I bet that if the faculty had communicated and educated us more, we would have been better equipped to avoid terrible situations like drugs, driving under the influence, and papier mache/baking soda and vinegar volcanoes.

It's probably completely off the subject of AIDS awareness, but I'm still a little peeved that I can't donate blood. For those of you who don't know, I'm gay. Men who have had sex with other men since 1977 can't donate blood because the world thinks all of us are dirty and full of diseases.

About twenty seven years ago, my mother was on her way home when her car was hit by another driver. She was rushed to the hospital and needed an emergency blood transfusion. If you haven't already guessed, she was pregnant with me at the time. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for the people who were nice enough to donate blood.

Feeling a sense of obligation one year when the mobile blood bank made its way to my place of employment, I thought I'd be able to do my part to save the life of another. Boy, was I wrong! They turned me away after they learned that I was a pole smoker.

I wonder why the issue of the blood ban isn't discussed as much here as it is in other countries like South Africa or the countries in the UK. The students in other countries go fuckin crazy for a cause, like those students in France who protested their new labor laws earlier this year.

All the blood that's received by the American Red Cross is screened for HIV, so it's not like they're having to play Russian roulette when the time comes to give blood to people who need it. The FDA's reasoning behind banning gay people from donating is that they have to weed out any potential tainting of the national blood supply. Yet a heterosexual man who's had unprotected sex with thousands of strange women can donate all the blood he wants while a non-promiscuous gay man with a rare blood type that could potentially save dozens of lives has to sit at home and watch reruns of the Mary Tyler Moore show. Is that fair?

They don't hook everyone up to a machine that detects whether or not a person is gay, so a gay man can actually lie on the questionnaire to circumvent the discriminatory screening. But we shouldn't have to go back into the closet just to donate blood!

I'll probably get a lot of moans about this entry from people who will tell me that I don't know enough about the issue to whine about it. This is the same problem I had back years ago in elementary school with the lack of useful information. If anyone can help me out, that would be great.