Jonathan Pryor practices safe sex. He and his partner are monogamous. He is routinely tested for HIV. He is careful about his health and lives a lifestyle reflective of his concerns. He wants to contribute to other people’s health by donating blood. One factor stops him.
“Because I am gay I cannot help the Blood Drive’s cause,” Pryor said.
Pryor, Columbus senior and director of Queers and Allies, recently spoke out against the University of Kansas Blood Drive because of a policy that does not allow gay men to donate blood.
The controversy regarding the policy began on campus recently when a mass e-mail promoting KU’s Blood Drive was sent out over an organizational list serve. Two people, neither associated with Queers and Allies, replied to the e-mail; saying it should not have been distributed because of its discriminatory content. The KU Blood Drive Committee responded by hosting a forum to educate students about blood donation. Pryor was among members of Queers and Allies who attended the forum to voice concern regarding the policy.
Jeff Klinkhardt, St. Louis senior and president of the KU Blood Drive Committee, said the Blood Drive Committee held the forum because it wanted students to understand why the KU Blood Drive cannot allow gay men to donate blood.
“We’re not discriminating,” said Klinkhardt. “If we don’t follow the FDA guidelines, the FDA can’t use the pints we collect.”
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which regulates the nation’s blood supply and determines the policies that decide who is eligible to donate blood, has faced controversy regarding their policy that defers gay men from being potential donors since the policy was enacted in 1983.
According to the FDA Web site, gay and bisexual men are considered to be high-risk for transmitting and contracting HIV and AIDS. Other high-risk groups include women who have had sex with gay men, people who have accepted money for sex and intravenous drug users. All high-risk groups are deferred from donating blood.
FDA spokesperson Pat Harley said that although tests can determine if a person is HIV positive, they are not always accurate.
“There’s a window period where an HIV test will not show up positive, even if the person is infected,” Harley said. “We’re taking the safer than sorry approach.”
Pryor said the policy is outdated and openly discriminates against gay men and those who have had a relationship with a gay man.
“This policy is reflective of the 1980s, when people were not educated and when people labeled HIV the gay disease,” Pryor said. “The FDA needs to reevaluate their policy because things have changed significantly in the past couple decades.”
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) agrees with Pryor.
“I can understand the concern, but there have been so many advances in screening for HIV,” said Brett Shirk, executive director of the ACLU for Kansas and western Missouri. “(The FDA) is discriminating against an entire group of people because of the actions of a percentage of them.”
Shirk also said the FDA’s screening procedures are flawed because they defer safe donors while allowing unsafe donors to slip through the system. He said that the African-American community has a higher percentage of people who are HIV-positive when compared to gay men, but it is not considered high-risk for the virus. Shirk also said that few women truly know the sexual history of their partners, and could potentially donate blood without knowing that they have had sex with a gay man, and are therefore high-risk for transferring HIV.
Shirk said that although he disagrees with the FDA’s policy, Queers and Allies does not have legal ground to stand on to argue the policy because they are not a protected class under the U.S. Constitution.
“I think it’s a travesty in American law, but the FDA and the American Red Cross have every right to do it,” Shirk said. “There’s no civil right to give blood.”
The KU Blood Drive Committee responded to the concerns of Queers and Allies by posting a disclaimer on its Web site and at donating stations that reads: “The KU Blood Drive Committee is a non-discriminatory group. We are required to follow FDA regulations.”
Pryor said the disclaimer is a positive step, and he does not feel that the KU Blood Drive discriminates against gay men. But Pryor wishes more could be done to eliminate the FDA policy.
“Allow a student petition at blood donating stations to be sent on to the FDA,” Pryor said. “HIV has sadly been around for almost 30 years and there have been great advancements since then and we know anyone can be affected.”
Klinkhardt said that he was unsure whether Queers and Allies would be allowed to petition at blood donating stations, but he invited the group to be present at future meetings planning blood drives at KU.
Harley said the donor policies are under routine review by the FDA. The policy deferring gay men was last reviewed in March 2006, at which time the FDA felt there was “scientific justification for screening donors who are men who have had sex with another man.”
Pryor said he is concerned that the policy fosters false ideas about the gay community.
“Many people assume that gay or bisexual men are promiscuous and unable to have committed relationships. These are the kinds of ideas and thoughts that further perpetuate policies like that of the FDA,” Pryor said. “Everyone is high risk that does not protect themselves and educate themselves.”
Pryor said HIV awareness and education are key factors to diminishing the virus and the FDA policies. He cited personal reasons for wanting to donate blood in the future.
“It would make me feel equal, rather than an outcast,” Pryor said. “I would get satisfaction of knowing I’ve helped someone.”