Editor,
I am amazed at the ignorance Larry Crum displays in his letter to the editor, which states that gays who cannot donate blood are overreacting. I'm going to take this down point by point, and hopefully enlighten some heterosexuals in the process.
First of all, blood that is collected is screened for HIV and other blood-borne diseases, regardless of what the donor claims as a risk level. Despite this, about one per 100,000 pints of blood donated annually are HIV positive, mostly because HIV detection methods have a margin of error in that general area.
Allowing gays to donate - assuming they haven't simply lied to donate anyway - would not increase this number in any statistically significant way. I believe the estimate was two to three per 100,000 units donated - hardly a floodgate.
Second, Crum was undergoing chemotherapy and was told not to go in public for health reasons. This was not to benefit others but himself. It was not discriminatory and he would be quite foolish to believe so. It also has nothing to do with discriminatory policies that blood services hold, which I will now illustrate.
High-risk groups that are not homosexual can, in fact, donate blood even without knowing their HIV status.
Intravenous drug users, people who pay cash for sex, and hepatitis C carriers can all donate, while gays are barred forever from donating. If you have had sex with a man since 1978, you are ineligible for life. That is discriminatory.
Personally, I know my HIV status better than most heterosexuals and I know I am negative. I will gladly donate blood and lie about how many men I've had sex with because it has no bearing. I'm negative. I'm healthy. I should be allowed to donate.
Clinton Kile
UNM student
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