Since gays* aren’t allowed to donate blood does that mean we can’t donate organs either? When I signed up PennDOT never asked if I’d had sex with a man since 1977.
*Any man who’s had sex with another man since 1977.
The Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has established guidelines allowing organ donation centers to reject donations from men who have had sex with men in the last five years.
Allowing or requiring? It seems like they would want all they could get…why can’t they just test the organs (or the blood, for that matter) for HIV? You would think they would do so anyway.
That’s one thing that has always bothered me about organ donation information… they don’t seem to stright out say that blood donation restrictions also apply, but I have yet to be able to get an answer from anybody regarding eligibility to donate. In my case, it’s because I lived in Germany from 1990-1993 and travelled in France a lot, and so there is the theoretical risk of vCJD (mad cow disease). So I can’t give blood, but no one can tell me if it’s worthwhile to sign the damn organ donation card. I do it anyways, but is there any point?
Of course, if I were in deathly need of a kidney or heart or something, I think the theoretical risk of a disease that only a couple handfulls of people have ever had is a chance I’d be willing to take. As for the HIV/other STD risk… most can be tested for pre-transplant, and again, I think there’d be a level of illness at which I’d be willing to take that chance. But that might just be me!
Mnemosene-- I think they’ve changed the rules about living in Europe and giving blood-- I was just able to donate which surprised me. Check out the Red Cross site since I think something’s changed.