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Tyana Cullen
Research Paper
English 4
Dec 8th, 2014
The Ban on MSM Medical Donation
AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) is a chronic, potentially life-threatening
condition caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By damaging a persons immune
system, HIV interferes with ones body's ability to fight the organisms that cause disease.
HIV is a sexually transmitted infection, but it can also be spread by contact with infected
blood or from mother to child during pregnancy, childbirth or breast-feeding. It can take years
before HIV weakens ones immune system to the point that he/she has AIDS. (HIV/AIDS)
During the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s, patients receiving blood donations started
showing signs of AIDS. Through research, scientists learned that the gay community had a
disproportionate number of men affected by the virus. Given this knowledge, the FDA decided
that all men, whom had sex with a man starting in 1977, should be removed from the donors list.
(Christensen 1) The FDA added an additional screening question to the federal guidelines to
separate MSM members (men who have sex with men,) from heterosexual men. At this time, no
others questions or regulations were placed on heterosexual men or women who might have been
in contact with the virus.
The ban on MSM blood donation is lifelong, meaning if one has been identified as a gay,
bisexual, or homosexual man, one may never donate blood. On the other hand, the ban on tissue

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donation only lasts five years, with the abstinence of sexual intercourse. Organ donation has no
restrictions, but both the organization receiving the organ and the organ transplant recipient must
be aware that the organ is from an MSM member. This rule was put into place so that the
recipients may be aware of the elevated risks for disease, and agree to those terms. (Cray 2, 3).

Since the 1980s, there have been many scientific breakthroughs and advancements in
AIDS research. Scientists can now screen all people for positive results of HIV within days of
infection, lessening a chance for risk. With this new research, they also discovered that the
probability of HIV transmission through blood transfusions is only one in 1.5 million people.
(Cray 2) Due to these new medical breakthroughs and the flawed regulations against one select
group, who may or may not have contracted the HIV virus, the FDAs ban against all MSM
donations should be lifted.

In the past few years, blood donations have gone down by 10% across the country.
(Christensen 1) Every year, blood banks turn away over 50,000 healthy MSM members who are
qualified to donate blood, besides their sexuality. The Red Cross Blood foundation stated that
every two seconds, someone in the U.S. needs blood. A whole unit of blood can impact the
lives of up to three people. It can be separated into three distinct products, each of which have
different functions and can be used in concentrated doses depending on patient needs. Blood
Donation Facts) With the help of healthy MSM members, various lives could be saved.

While the need for blood transfusions is high, there is also a need for healthy tissue and
organ donors. Through the years of 2004 to 2008, a study was conducted on the decline of organ
donations. The study showed that living kidney and lung donations had declined by 1,000 people
in the course of four years. During the year of 2007, the number of living liver donations

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dropped by 50%. (Staff 2) "This decline has resulted in a widening gap between the number of
organs available for transplant, and the number of patients who are awaiting a donor organ," said
study author Andrew S. Klein, M.D., director of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's Comprehensive
Transplant Center in Los Angeles. (Staff 3) A full organ donation can save the lives of a
maximum of 8 people. Tissue donation can be used in various patients to repair heart valves,
skin, and trauma or meniscus tears.

While the issue with HIV and AIDS is still a major problem, there is a lack of
information given to both the MSM and the heterosexual communities of this epidemic. The
Kaiser Family Foundation conducted a trial to view the knowledge of the subject in both
communities. In the trial, over half of the men stated that their doctors had never recommended
testing for HIV/AIDS. (Gay and Bisexual Men) More than 1.1 million people are living with
AIDS, and one in every six men is unaware of their infection. (HIV in the United States)
Given these statistics, how can the FDA just use one question to ban a specific group of people,
who may be free of AIDS, from donating?
The ban put forth is banning MSM members based on their sexuality, rather than their
sexual behaviors or actions. Mike Quigley, U.S. state legislator for Illinois, believes that the ban
should be lifted, because there is a greater risk of AIDS distribution when the difference in sexual
behaviors is examined. "A straight person who has unsafe sex with multiple partners can give
blood, and that creates a greater risk than a gay person in a monogamous relationship."
(Christensen 1) Compared to the strict regulations set forth for MSM, most straight men are not
asked about the number or partners they have had, nor the number of times they had engaged in
unprotected sex. Policies set by the FDA and American Association of Blood Banks (AABB)

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should be changed so that they stay consistent among all donors, regardless of sexuality.
Although MSM still need to be put under tighter regulations due to their increase risk of
contracting the disease, a change in the regulations must be put forth. The regulations must state
that all men, straight, gay, bisexual, or homosexual, should follow a strict protocol that regulates
their sexual behaviors before donating. By taking away the ban, and replacing it with
regulations, not only would the community see it as progress, but the number of lives saved will
dramatically help with the decline of donations.
The issue regarding the ban and regulations set forth by the FDA regarding blood
donation, tissue donation, and organ donation should be reevaluated. Over the past several years,
blood, tissue, and organ donation are declining every year. One person can donate enough organs
to save up to eight lives, while they can save 100 lives by tissue donation. If healthy MSM
members were able to donate, the gap between donors and recipients would close. To change the
way people view AIDS, more information needs to be given out about the subject. People,
especially MSM, need to be properly informed about the issue, or else no changes will occur.
Due to the better recognition of AIDS in humans, it is discriminatory to ban just a select group of
people. This ban needs to be broken down and replaced by structured rules that all must comply
with.
Works Cited
"Blood Donation Facts and Information." BloodCenter of Wisconsin. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Oct. 2014.
https://www.bcw.edu/bcw/blood-donation/all-about-blood/index.htm

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Christensen, Jen. "As Blood Donations Decline, U.S. Ban on Gay Donors Is Examined."
CNN. Cable News Network, 07 July 2012. Web. 26 Sept. 2014.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/07/06/health/gay-men-blood-ban/
Cray, Andrew. "Discriminatory Donor Policies Substitute Stereotypes for Science."
Center for American Progress. N.p., 11 Sept. 2012. Web. 14 Oct. 2014.
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/lgbt/news/2012/09/11/37294/discriminatory-donorpolicies-substitute-stereotypes-for-science/
"Gay and Bisexual Men See HIV as the Top Health Issue Facing Their Community, But
Majorities Are Not Personally Worried About Getting Infected & Not Getting Tested
Regularly." Kaiser Family Foundation. HIVAIDS, 25 Sept. 2104. Web. 02 Oct. 2014.
http://kff.org/hivaids/press-release/gay-and-bisexual-men-see-hiv-as-the-top-health-issue-facingtheir-community-but-majorities-are-not-personally-worried-about-getting-infected-not-gettingtested-regularly
"HIV/AIDS." Mayo Clinic. Mayo Clinic Staff, 20 May 2014. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hiv-aids/basics/definition/con-20013732
"HIV in the United States." AIDS.gov. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(CDC), n.d. Web. 27 Oct. 2014.
http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/statistics/
Staff, LiveScience. "Declining Organ Donations Causes Widening Need Gap."
LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 22 Mar. 2010. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.
http://www.livescience.com/8127-declining-organ-donations-widening-gap.html