Drowning in blood, but only metaphorically for once...

Despite the onslaught of the republican convention, New York City is about to enter a bloodless summer. That is to say that we are approaching a dangerous blood shortage in the city, the worst ever in fact. The shortage is expected to be so bad that there may be a cancellation of elective surgeries, such as knee surgery. If you've ever known anyone who has needed knee surgery it's hard to imagine why it's considered elective, but there you have it. Emergency rooms may also have close due to this blood drought, and since too many people use the emergency room as their primary health care, closings would be catastrophic. So I suggest everyone give blood at some point soon.

Oh Matt, you may ask, I do not know if I am eligible to give blood! Well you've come to the right place! Here are a few sample questions they will ask you. Let's see if I, as a young healthy man, can give blood, shall we.

-Do you weigh over 110 pounds? Well not to flatter myself, but I do weigh slightly more than 110.

-Are you feeling well today? The sun is shining and I'm about to get a free Twinkie! I'm feeling great, thanks for asking.

-Have you been pregnant in the last weeks? No comment.

-In the past 12 months, have you had sexual contact with someone who has tested positive for HIV/AIDS? No, I have not.

-In the past 12 months, have you had a tattoo or body piercing? Well one night I got really drunk and had a tat put on my.. well let me just show you, I just need to bend... oh, wait no, that was more than 12 months. Sorry, no.

-Male Donors: From 1977 to the present have you had sexual contact with another male, even once? Yes, but I've always been safe.

And that's about the point they would throw me out. Well actually, they are usually very nice people, but they would inform me that I can not give blood under any circumstance because I am gay. In today's day and age, it is dumbfounding to think that sexual orientation is used to determine such things. I can have sex with someone over year ago who is HIV-positive and still give blood, but if I have had sex in 1977 with a man, positive or not, I can not give because the FDA considers my lifestyle to be high-risk. I feel the higher risk is screening out about a fifth of the population. They claim science supports this policy but there are plenty of unfair assumptions used in this "scientific" conclusion. The ban on gay blood donors is based on the assumption that all homosexual and bisexual men are high risk for HIV and the policy seems to reflect homophobic prejudices, not medical facts. The quality and timeliness of HIV and AIDS evaluations has improved dramatically, producing results within days or even minutes. Since most blood transfusions require weeks of preparation there is ample time to re-test as a precaution.  The policy also virtually ignores the health risk posed by heterosexual donors who've been exposed to HIV or AIDS. The gay community is historically socially conscious anactiveve within their communities-exactly the sort of population helpful in obtaining blood donors. If this anachronistic discrimination is dropped, it could only improve thdisasterousus blood supply.