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Yesterday, there were a few articles about the metropolitan area's blood shortage. Today, We got an email from the New York Blood Center explaining how serious a problem this is:
NYC is experiencing one of its worst blood shortages ever. Currently we have less than a 2 day supply of 0- and B- blood and other types are not looking much better. The New York Blood Center, which distributes blood to almost all hospitals in the metropolitan area, is beginning to ration certain blood types and some hospitals forecast that they will have to cancel non-essential surgeries if there is not an increase in donations.Here's a list of blood donation locations.If you would like to donate please go to our web site www.nybloodcenter.org or call 1-800-933-blood to find a location to donate. If you would like to organize a blood drive with your business, school, church, synagogue, mosque, etc. please do so.
Donating blood is an easy and safe thing to do. The whole donation process takes 30 minutes and we normally give you a little gift and some juice and cookies at the end. Most importantly, donations save up to 5 lives and help patients with cancer, sickle cell, accident victims, transplant recipients, and other ailments. Each day we need almost 2,000 pints of blood to meet the needs of our patients. Without your help this can not be achieved.
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Perhaps when donation centers will allow donations from gay men, I will consider donating blood. Till then.....
if you allowed gay men to donate blood in this city youd have a lot more donors ... with the technological and accuracy improvements of rapid testing i would think this would be a no-brainer. it is 2007.
Are they still not accepting blood from Gay people?
It's absolutely horrendous that we still do not accept blood from gay people. We should protest this policy, vehemently and vocally, but that protest should not include a boycott on donations. The people who need to blood are not the people who set the policy. By refusing to to accept donations from gay persons, the blood centers are endangering the lives of patients, but by refusing to donate because other people cannot also quite literally endangers lives.
you should know that it's federal policy not to accept donations from gay men. the ny blood center can't do anything about it--and, moreover, they too have protested the policy. so it's no reason not to donate to them if you can!!
I, too, would donate if they would lift the ban.
I had NO idea that gay people couldn't donate. That's shocking. I'm totally blown away by this fact. Also, don't they test it all anyway? I guess this lessens the margin of error in their eyes? (I don't feel that way, just trying to guess why.)
is it like that in other countries as well? Now, I'm very curious.
I'm also curious, does anyone know if pregnant women can donate blood?
After scheduling an appointment for donation earlier today with a representative who seemed inconvenienced by my call, I asked about blood tests included in the donation process - STD, cholesterol, blood type and if I would receive the results. This question prompted her to tell me not to donate if the tests were the only reason I was willing.
Blood shortage emergency? I'm not surprised with this sort of interface with the public...
You are not elligible to donate if you're pregnant.
arlen--i think they have a lot of trouble with people using them simply as a free testing service. which first of all, depletes their resources at no benefit to people who need blood, and secondly is DANGEROUS. you shouldn't donate if you think you might have STDs or HIV/AIDS or anything like that.
so that probably in part explains their hostility toward your questions. all my interactions with the ny blood center have been very positive! & i love free oreos!
while they can't accept blood from gay men, i'm not sure that's a good reason not to donate blood. i think commenter #5 made a good point about that.
OMG Sean Brandt sighting! he's so dreamy!
You also can't if you've had sexual relations with someone from certain African countries (Cameroon). My sister was recently turned away in Kentucky.
Does anyone know anything about Hospital vs. Red Cross donations? I've heard that the Red Cross sells their blood to Hospitals.
There are lots of other restrictions as well. I spent a semester in London during college, and apparently that disqualifies me. I've tried to donate several times.
the blood center is a not-for-profit company that distributes blood to almost all hospitals in ny. we do not make a profit off the blood, but do charge the hospitals for the costs of testing the blood, paying our staff (most of which is unionized and treated fairly), and paying for transportation.
Donating at hospitals is safe, but it only helps that specific hospital. Sometimes a hospital will run a blood drive in another neighborhood, even though most people who donate don't live in the neighborhood of the hospital. When donting at the blood center you can be assured that the blood will go to hospitals thoughout the mentropolitan area.
Finally, the AABB (which the New York Blood Center is a member) and the Red Cross has petitioned the FDA to eliminate the ban on gay men. The FDA responded by showing data that 25% of donors found to have HIV were from men who had sexual relations with other men. We recomend that you write your contact your local congressman and ask them to pressure the FDA.
so i just checked ny blood centers page for listing of manhattan locations to donate and i was shocked to find that they only have one location open on weekends. Now I'm not sure when and or where I can donate, or even if I can donate.
ummm not to point out the obivous, but has anyone thought to mention to the folks over there that if they worked at making it more convenient for people to donate (i.e. by having weekend operating hours at ALL locations) that perhaps their desperate pleas for blood wouldn't go so seemingly ignored.
Well I very much want to donate blood, however I discovered when looking up information on the blood center's website that they only have one location in Manhattan that has weekend hours. Now I'm not sure where and when I can donate.
Not to belabor the obvious, but has anyone mentioned to these people that if they tried to make things a little more convenient for their donor base (i.e by having weekend hours at ALL locations) that their desperate pleas for help might not go so seemingly unnoticed?
sorry to post again..
a couple years ago there was a blood shortage and i went to the local hospital to donate blood, i got there at 11:45am on a saturday and they denied me. all the nurses were on lunch (sitting around chatting & eating) and when i called earlier, they said to come before noon which is their lunch hour. one nurse said she'd help but the head nurse said, no they can come back. ive never been so appalled. we got denied when trying to donate blood. the nerve!
It also turns out that there are increased risks in accepting donations of certain blood components from women.
well I'm gay and have lived in Africa and I get tested regularly. I just lied, and gave blood. I'm responsible, in a long term relationship and use protection and know my health status at all times. I figured, since they tested anyway, might as well lie and get more blood to the needy, and it worked.
It's absolutely horrendous
No, what's happening in Darfur is horrendous. This is not even in the same ballpark as banning gays from the military. This doesn't affect your life one bit. If one person in New York has died from a blood shortage I would love to hear about it. If there was a catastrophe today people would line up immediately. If you were in emergency surgery they could always tap a nurse or a family member. Try focusing on a real injustice somewhere.
I think the time in England thing has to do with Mad Cow Disease. What will they do when it inevitably shows up in America?
My company is actually having a New York Blood Center-sponsored blood drive in 2 weeks (1/24). If anyone is interested, you can sign up or email me for info thru my email listed here.
sorry, I thought my name would link my email address. It's flymetothemoon_13 @ hotmail. com
http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/peter_tatchell/2006/11/gay_blood_ban_shame.html
I just wrote to Charlie Rangel. Care to join me, anyone?
As commenters 5 and 15 point out, it's not the New York Blood Center's fault that donations are not accepted from gay men-- it's the FDA that's the problem. As a gay man who used to donate as often as they'd let me (this is when I was pathetically still giving it the old college try with women), it's very frustrating to me.
Give if you can and press for the FDA to change its policy. Petitions include:
http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/equalblood
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/395725675?ltl=1168556060
thanks for the petitioning sites, wishicould.
I agreed with the very fist comment, posted by Gay, mentioning the whole homophobic block on donating blood. It was the first thought that popped in my mind when I saw the article title. As if heterosexuals don't contract STDs and HIV.