Friday, July 5, 2013

National Gay Blood Drive to Raise Awareness of (and Potentially Change) Gay Blood Ban

Posted By on Fri, Jul 5, 2013 at 12:12 PM

On July 12, Ryan James Yezak hopes that gay and bisexual men around the country will donate blood.

He also hopes that they'll be turned away, simply because they've had sex with another man.

It sounds confusing and contradictory, but the idea is that he wants to discard a ban on blood donations by gay men by proving that the ban on gay blood is discriminatory.

In a National Gay Blood Drive press release, via the Huffington Post:

"The
 ban 
is 
outdated, 
and 
as 
a 
result,
 countless
 otherwise 
eligible 
gay 
and 
bisexual 
men 
are 
unable 
to 
contribute 
to 
the
nation’s
 blood 
supply 
and 
help 
save 
lives.
 
Especially a 
time 
when 
blood 
shortages 
are 
increasingly
 common.
 Not 
only 
that,
 but
 the
 ban 
perpetuates 
negative 
stereotypes 
and 
stigma. 
Whether
 intentional 
or 
not, 
it
 is 
discrimination
 based 
on 
sexual 
orientation.”

Unfortunately, there isn't an affiliated National Gay Blood Drive donation site in Tucson — the closest location appears to be in Phoenix — but for more information, head to the National Gay Blood Drive website or Facebook page.

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