I once was a regular blood donor, and amassed over three gallons of blood donation. Then...I stopped donating. Or, rather, I was stopped FROM donating...because I am a transgender person.
The prevailing attitude of the times was that they didn't want all that yucky transgender blood going around and infecting everyone, making THEM transgender, too...couldn't HAVE that, could we??
No, the reason was because they just flat ASSUMED that, because I was a transsexual...and pre-op at the time...that I MUST be engaged in risky sexual behaviors.
Forget the fact that they ask you a zillion questions about your sex life when you go to donate blood. Forget the fact that they give you two stickers which are bar-coded - one being for "Use My Blood" and one for "Do Not Use My Blood" that you secertly put on the bag before donating (and the phlebotomist can't tell, by looking, which sticker you used.) Forget the fact that every unit of donated blood is screened for any number of diseases, including AIDS.
The prevailing attitude, way back then...was simply that because I was a transgender person...I MUST be engaged in risky sexual behavior.
Today, we found a blood drive being done by REX Health System locally (UNC for the rest of you) and, my mother, herself a five-gallon donor...wanted to go donate...and asked me if I would, too.
I told her that of course I would...IF they would take my blood. They also later put me on no donations back in PA...when I had my surgery done in Thailand. Travel to Southeast Asia was an automatic disqualifier.
But all of this was twelve years ago (that is how long I am now post-op) so I decided to give it a try.
In the end, they DID take my blood! Seems that nowadays, it is okay to take blood from transgender people, as long as they are not engaged in risky behaviors, and can answer the questions honestly. (Seems that they have to ask you the questions from the perspective of your birth gender if you are pre-op....but if you are post-op, then they ask the questions from the perspective of your correct gender.)
So I got talking with the people there and found out that it is also okay...they take blood from lesbian women. They still do not take from gay men, though...even if they are not engaged in risk behavior...even if they are in a monogamous relationship.
Which seems a bit outdated an attitude from my perspective....since AIDS is not CAUSED by homosexual behavior...but rather a virus - two uninfected homosexual males could not contract the disease if they were monogamous to each other.
Not only that but there is the screening process I mentioned above...and the testing done on all blood after the fact. So I am not quite sure why the resistance to allowing ANY gay men, whatsoever, to donate blood.
I am just glad that they finally have evolved enough to take MY blood...and let me once again give the gift of life to others. It makes me feel good to be able to help my fellow humans...even if not all of them are very nice to me or people like me.
If you are so inclined, after reading this...go donate some blood yourself, if you can. It doesn't hurt, only takes about fifteen minutes...and you can help save lives!