# US to turn gays away from sperm banks **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [May 20, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236 "2004-05-20T20:04:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Eman\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Eman\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eman_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/1 "2004-05-20T20:04:50Z")
[Here’s the story](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20040520/hl_afp/us_health_homosexuals_040520172443) This makes no sense to me. Couldn’t they just screen donors before they…donate, to see if there’s something wrong? Am I missing something here? ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/2 "2004-05-20T20:12:55Z")
I’m a bit surprised by this part: > [@](#): > > … we know that even the International Red Cross accepts blood from men who have sex with men," said Roberta Sklar, spokesperson for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force… I thought the IRC still screens their donor candidates and that gay male sex was a factor. When did this get updated? ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/3 "2004-05-20T20:18:37Z")
It’s because they don’t want anyone catching “the gay” from a blood transfusion. Not to mention, we all know that every gay man has 9 STDs and HIV. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![brianjedi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/4 "2004-05-20T20:20:02Z")
> [@brianjedi](#): > > It’s because they don’t want anyone catching “the gay” from a blood transfusion. Not to mention, we all know that every gay man has 9 STDs and HIV. > > :rolleyes: Derr. Substitute “sperm donation” for “blood transfusion” in that sentence. Saw “Red Cross” in the article and forgot what it was about. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/5 "2004-05-20T21:11:06Z")
Gah. What a fucking stupid and tyrannical government. Was John Asshole behind this? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/6 "2004-05-20T21:26:32Z")
You all might want to re-think this before you jump all over the government. Back in the mid-80s, I had a blood transfusion and I became a gay man briefly. Although it only lasted a few hours, I definitely had a case of the gay and was quickly given an antedote to correct the problem. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/7 "2004-05-20T21:34:48Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > You all might want to re-think this before you jump all over the government. Back in the mid-80s, I had a blood transfusion and I became a gay man briefly. Although it only lasted a few hours, I definitely had a case of the gay and was quickly given an antedote to correct the problem. I guess this means a lot of people won’t be getting their toasters. This is stupid. PLEASE tell me they test sperm in sperm banks anyway so that this shouldn’t be relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/8 "2004-05-20T21:43:21Z")
> [@](#): > > You all might want to re-think this before you jump all over the government. Back in the mid-80s, I had a blood transfusion and I became a gay man briefly. Although it only lasted a few hours, I definitely had a case of the gay and was quickly given an antedote to correct the problem. **Kalhoun** for scientific porpoises, please tell Enquiring Minds exactly what it felt like to be a gay man? Was it a sudden interest in show tunes? Judy Garland? Were you suddenly decorating with Flair, instead of discontinued items on clearance at Kmart? We Gots to Know. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/9 "2004-05-20T21:44:01Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > PLEASE tell me they test sperm in sperm banks anyway so that this shouldn’t be relevant. What do they do? Discard the ones with shoulder-bags? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/10 "2004-05-20T21:44:53Z")
From the NY Times: “Most sperm banks already freeze and quarantine specimens for six months, testing the donor at the beginning and end of that period, said Russ Bierbaum, chairman of the reproductive council of the American Association of Tissue Banks. Mr. Bierbaum also owns Reprotech, a sperm bank in Roseville, Minn. Since most anonymous sperm donors make routine donations, such testing is not difficult to perform, he said.” Even so, the article says, most sperm banks have rules against gays anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/11 "2004-05-20T21:46:35Z")
It’s fine if the sperm banks have such rules, but government imposition of them is an ethical abomination. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/12 "2004-05-20T21:51:39Z")
It seems to be a banner day for stepping all over gays. This little rule is fucking pathetic. They have to test the samples anyway, what does this accomplish other than pissing people off. They do test the donations right? I’d hate to think that Biff the manly quarterback get’s his spooge moved to the front of the line with expediency because he’s right thinking - damn the 14 prostitutes he’s picked up the creeping crud from. And then there was this story as well: [Gays shut out of Republican convention](http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/po/20040520/co_po/stategopconventionshutsoutgays). An excerpt: “The North Carolina chapter of the [Log Cabin Republicans] purchased a table at the North Carolina state convention on behalf of Log Cabin in early April. But just days ahead of the convention, North Carolina GOP Chairman Ferrell Blount returned the money, along with a stinging letter, which read, ‘Homosexuality is not normal,’ and informed the group it would not be allowed table space.” With friends like that … ---
**Author:** ![Liberal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/848f3c/32.png) [@Liberal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Liberal)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/13 "2004-05-20T22:15:34Z")
God bless the Stonewall Democrats. And fuck the North Carolina Republican Party. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2004, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/14 "2004-05-20T23:02:55Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > I thought the IRC still screens their donor candidates and that gay male sex was a factor. When did this get updated? AFAIK it hasn’t been. Regardless, the ICRC doesn’t make that decision, anyhow - it’s up to each Society. The American Red Cross, for example, follows FDA guidelines. A brief description is [here](http://www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html#hiv): > [@](#): > > Those who are at increased risk for becoming infected with HIV are not eligible to donate blood. According to the Food and Drug Administration, you are at increased risk if: > -you are a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once; > -you have ever used a needle, even once, to take drugs or steroids that were not prescribed by a physician; > -you have taken clotting factor concentrates for a bleeding disorder such as hemophilia; > -you were born in or lived in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger, or Nigeria since 1977 (This requirement is related to concerns about HIV Group O. Learn more about HIV Group O.) > -you have taken drugs or money in exchange for sex since 1977; > -you have ever had a positive test for HIV virus; > -you have symptoms of HIV infection including unexplained weight loss, night sweats, blue or purple spots on or under the skin, long-lasting white spots or unusual sores in your mouth, lumps in your neck, armpits, or groin that last more than a month, fever higher than 99 degrees that lasts more than 10 days, diarrhea lasting over a month, or persistent cough and shortness of breath; > > Wait for 12 months after close contact with someone who is at an increased risk for HIV infection. This occurs when paying to have sex, as a result of rape, or when having sex with an IV drug user. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/15 "2004-05-21T00:11:23Z")
> [@Shirley Ujest](#): > > **Kalhoun** for scientific porpoises, please tell Enquiring Minds exactly what it felt like to be a gay man? Obviously, it felt fabulous. Duh! ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/16 "2004-05-21T00:31:07Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I definitely had a case of the gay and was quickly given an antedote to correct the problem. I’m more curious what this antidote was. It sounds… fun. ---
**Author:** ![caphis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19adc/32.png) [@caphis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caphis)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/17 "2004-05-21T00:41:59Z")
Oh well. I give blood and have donated sperm on ocassion to turn a quick buck. This doesn’t change the fact that I will continue to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/18 "2004-05-21T00:48:18Z")
Please allow me to play devil’s advocate and say that there isn’t necessarily a gay bias in effect here, and perhaps they are actually concerned about the public’s health. We all know that there is an increased chance of contracting a disease from homosexual sex as opposed to hetero, and we also know that tests for determining whether or not someone has a disease is not 100%. So isn’t it a reasonable possibility that they are banning anyone who has homosexual sex in the past five years from being sperm donors because they are genuinely worried about the increased chance that they might be inadvertantly transmitting a disease? Sorry, the FDA might be going overboard in their caution, and if so they do deserve to be criticized on that basis, and I do see an overall anti-gay bias in this country but I don’t think that this is a clear cut example of it and I see this thread as an overreaction. ---
**Author:** ![Asylum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@Asylum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asylum)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/19 "2004-05-21T00:50:19Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > I see this thread as an overreaction. Let me qualify that: I see some of the posts in this thread as an overreaction. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [May 21, 2004, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236/20 "2004-05-21T00:58:03Z")
> [@Asylum](#): > > We all know that there is an increased chance of contracting a disease from homosexual sex as opposed to hetero Um…no there’s not. If the disease is not present in one’s partner then there is no chance of contracting the disease from that partner. Having “homosexual sex” with dozens of disease-free men is less risky than having “heterosexual sex” with an infected partner. The genitals of the participants has nothing to do with it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/us-to-turn-gays-away-from-sperm-banks/246236.md?page=2)