By Isabella Auerbach
Opinions Contributor
As students living in the 21st century, we commonly hear phrases such as “all men are created equal” as society tackles questions of racism. Recently, as feminism has begun playing a larger role in conversations, “all genders are created equal” has become more commonly used as well. Newton South, on the other hand, is taking up a new chant: “all blood is created equal.”
This concept may seem fairly obvious; however, the American Red Cross’s outdated regulations seem to challenge the seemingly simple statement.
Until this past December, the Food and Drug Administration prohibited all men who have had sex with men to donate blood through the American Red Cross. Not only is this ban incredibly outdated, but it successfully alienates a minority group that has already faced centuries of discrimination.
If these rules were created for the sole purpose of safety, this would not be as significant of an issue; however, HIV tests take a maximum of two weeks to be analyzed. The administration stated in December that the FDA is changing its regulation that “men who have sex with men (MSM) be indefinitely deferred . . . to 12 months since the last sexual contact with another man.” Test results come out in less than half a month, however; if a man’s blood does indeed carry HIV, he would receive his test results in about a week, not a full year.
One can understand the historical reasoning for this ban, as it was instituted during the AIDs epidemic of the 1980s. Because of the way in which the virus is transmitted, specific groups were targeted as high risk, among them gay, male Americans. Regulations such as this one have a historical explanation: Americans were scared and the medical community, in the process of trying to manage the virus, implemented very strict guidelines.
However, it is now 2016, and the medical world has made enormous leaps in the past 30 years. AIDs is a treatable disease and the gay community has become much more aware of the risk of transmission; therefore, behaviors have changed in a way that diminishes the risks of receiving these diseases.
During this epidemic, dentists were also becoming infected with AIDs as their hands were frequently in contact with infected blood, a prime method of disease transmission. However, now dentists wear gloves and use other forms of protection and are not discriminated against by blood donation organizations.
This rule is not only superfluous, but also dehumanizing. There is no logical scientific reason for the ban; therefore, the Red Cross is sending a message to Americans that gay citizens are somehow different from, or even inferior to, straight blood donors.
It is time we move on in this country. We have made great strides in promoting equality across gender, race, and religion. It is time we do the same thing for the blood that runs through our bodies.
