October 30, 2007
Red Cross being safe with blood donor restrictions
Before I begin, I must make this absolutely clear, I am no way trying to condemn homosexuality. However, I believe those that are trying to make a stand against the American Red Cross, and other similar institutions because they do not allow gay men to donate is wrong.
Homosexuals are not the only ones who cannot donate. Those who have recently had tattoos or piercings, despite the government mandating that every tattoo or piercing needle be sterile and individually packaged, can’t donate for a year. Neither can those who have simply visited certain parts of the world because there may be a large population of people infected with HIV/AIDS.
The American Red Cross doesn’t make these rules to make a platform against certain behaviors or lifestyles, they are doing it out of the concern of those who are receiving the blood that you give. Even if the risk is extremely small, the health of the recipient must be what matters most. If someone is in need of a blood transfusion, it can be assumed that their body will have a very weak immune system. We must also remember that the American Red Cross also risks being sued if a recipient contracts a disease through their transfusions. Sometimes the fear of living in a “sue-happy” society, and subsequently not being able to provide blood transfusions for the thousands of people who depend on them every year makes them a little more leery about certain candidates, even if there really isn’t any cause to be leery in the first place.
If you are denied for any reason, and your intentions really are to help, then why don’t you try to find another way pitch in? I have never heard of the American Red Cross refusing volunteers because of sexual orientation. You could even spend the minimum hour that you would have spent in a chair giving blood by organizing to pass out flyers and knocking on dorm room doors to get qualified donors to donate. Who knows, you may not have been able to donate yourself, but you could possibly get three other people to do donate in your place.
There is a long, and difficult road ahead in the battle for homosexual rights, but this is the wrong place to be fighting for them.
Katherine Richmond
freshman, political science/history
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