General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Blood bank in Florida still turning away gay donors after terrorist attack [View all]ButterflyBlood
(12,644 posts)Any male who has engaged in sex with another male in the past 12 months is deferred. That's behavior and it's what defers you. Simply being of an orientation does not result in deferral.
People can also be deferred for having tattoos or piercings recently. That's not bigotry against tattooed or pierced people, just a labeling of it as risky behavior.
Is male/male sex a behavior by itself that's so risky it should result in deferral? I am not qualified to answer that.
Edit: I can understand why this policy makes so many uncomfortable and I would put myself as someone who isn't a huge fan either. But as I noted above, it's not just the US, plenty of countries with strong records on GLBT issues have the same or even stricter policies. Russia, hardly a bastion of GLBT rights does not. This isn't an issue where politics should come into play at all, it's about public health and nothing more, and nothing else should be the consideration.