Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Let's get one thing straight (no hetero): I had no intention of giving blood when I first came across the MSM controversy, nor, being under 17, was I of an age where I could have done. Moreover, I'm not sure I would do now, however easy that might be.The reality of me donating blood would be to turn up at a clinic and tick a box on a form saying I have not had sex with a man in the last 12 months. But why should I have to tuck in my rainbow bandana and lie on a form in order to donate my 100 percent uncontaminated, have-never-had-unprotected-sex blood to a person in need? Why should I have to lie about my sexuality when my blood is going to undergo the same screening as a man who has had unprotected sex with hundreds of women and not had to lie about it?Surely a more sensible setup would be to tailor the criteria, distinguishing more precisely between people who engage in high-risk sexual activities and those who don't. Everyone, whether they have sex with men or not, could be directed to a set of criteria determining risk-factor, such as whether you are in a long-term monogamous relationship, whether you regularly have unprotected sex, whether you have recently been tested… Based on this, they could decide whether or not they deem themselves suitable for donation. It might be based on trust, but so too is the current system. If anything, this way would create less risk of transmitting disease, as well as achieving the not-insignificant task of stemming a prejudice that is systemic.Changing the donor register is about more than just laziness. It is about more than just a medical responsibility for the long list of patients in need of transfusions. It is about a social responsibility to change an institutionalized and archaic attitude towards gay men. It's about homophobia.Follow Joe on Twitter.