Gay Men Donating Blood Who Could not

Hamburg, same-sex or homosexual relationship is identical to many diseases
infectious diseases, especially sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Considering that, gay or lesbian couples may I donate blood?

For people who require blood transfusion immediately, there are two important things that must be considered, namely the donor blood type must match the blood type of recipients and donated blood must be free of disease.

Both requirements were owned by Thomas B, a man from Hamburg, Germany. Thomas has a blood type O-(O negative), which means that no antigens on the surface of red blood cells and makes the blood type is compatible with all other blood types.

Thomas is also healthier and more importantly, Thomas willing to donate blood that include rare species (less than 6 percent of world population has blood type O-) to the German Red Cross.

The only problem is that German law does not allow Thomas to donate blood. Thomas actually lies in a complicated situation. Why?

On the one hand, the German Red Cross reported being deprived of blood (regardless of blood type O-rare) and hope more people to be willing to help donate blood. On the other hand, German law prohibits accept blood donations from homosexual men as active as Thomas.

"Medical reason for not accepting the active homosexual men to donate blood comes from the fear that active homosexual men have a greater risk of suffering from HIV-positive," said Gregor Bein, a member of the German Medical Association, as reported from PsychologyToday, Tuesday (17 / 8 / 2010).

With these concerns, many doctors who believe that the health interests of blood recipients, physicians do not accept blood from gay people or the blood of people at high risk for HIV other.

According to doctors, although all blood donations are routinely tested for HIV infection, but this test is not 100 percent accurate for HIV. This is because people infected with HIV virus in just a few days tests may not show HIV-positive in standard blood tests.

Though unlikely, but receive blood from people at high risk of HIV will increase the number of people living with HIV from blood transfusions.

Therefore, do not accept blood from people at high risk of HIV as active homosexuals is rational.

According to the German Medical Association, people who have one of the following criteria must not donate blood:

1. Gay and bisexual men
2. Commercial Sex Workers (CSW)
3. People who use drugs
4. Convict