Movement on Ending the Gay Blood Ban?

It's more than two decades in the making, but is there finally movement on ending the ban on blood donations by gay men in the United States? We know that Sen. John Kerry has taken the lead on ending the ban, sending a letter to the head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week urging the FDA to reconsider the ban on gay blood. Now another voice in Congress is joining Sen. Kerry -- U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner.

Rep. Weiner held a press conference outside of Beth Israel Medical Center this past weekend, where he was joined by Dr. Sean Cahill, Managing Director of Public Policy, Research and Community Health at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis. Both called for an end to the ban on gay blood, citing the fact that it was an outdated policy that only served to peddle discrimination.

"The FDA’s policy is unfair, harmful to our blood supply and doesn’t make us any safer.  It’s hard to believe that such discrimination still exists in the year 2010,” Weiner said.

Could these voices be making a difference? Just maybe. Federal health officials have announced that they're going to review blood donation policies, and may be open to reviewing the ban on donations from gay men. We'll find out in June, when the Department of Health and Human Services' blood safety committee meets.

Meanwhile, Rep. Weiner's words are added momentum toward overturning the ban.

“With such a high demand for blood donations and with rigorous testing standards in place, this practice by the FDA harms more people than it helps," said Rep. Weiner. "We’re denying people the blood they need to survive just because of decades-old stereotypes and misinformation.”

Meanwhile, cue the right-wing hysteria and lies. GOPUSA quotes Dale O'Leary -- who is not a scientist, but simply an anti-gay ideologue -- who says that gay men could end up killing millions if they're allowed to donate blood. That's not only outrageous, it's a downright manipulation of the facts.

As Sen. Kerry wrote last week in Bay Windows, blood testing procedures are more advanced now than ever before. Beyond that, singling out gay men only serves to foster homophobia, especially since other groups "at-risk" of HIV are merely given a year's prohibition on donating blood, instead of a lifetime ban.

"Nothing better highlights the unjustified nature of the discrimination against men who have had sex with other men than the FDA’s own screening guidelines for other high risk sexual behaviors known for transmitting HIV," Sen. Kerry writes. "FDA guidelines dictate that if you pay a heterosexual prostitute for sex you are deferred from donating blood, but for just one year following the incident. If you have had heterosexual sex with someone you know is infected with HIV, you are deferred from donating blood for just one year. But a man who has had protected sex with a monogamous male partner, even one time 33 years ago, is barred for life from donating blood."

Let the hypocrisy speak for itself. When officials get together in June to decide the future of the gay male blood ban, they would do themselves wise to listen to people like Sen. Kerry and Rep. Weiner.

Photo credit: Jerry