Supervisor Ken Yeager is the first openly gay elected official in San Jose. He says the current restrictions in the FDA guidelines are unneccesary – not only that...
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The FDA banned gay men from donating blood in 1983. Blood banks started testing for HIV two years later, but the FDA is still enforcing the lifetime ban. Supervisor Yeager says there’s no medical reason to continue it.
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Last year, the Red Cross and the American Association of Blood Banks called on the FDA to reverse the lifetime ban, citing the fact that in most parts of the country, blood supplies are running critically low. Most of the donated blood we use here in the bay area comes from the midwest – it is, therefore, very expensive. All the donated blood, regardless of its source, undergoes thorough testing for everything from anemia to HIV but the FDA’s rules are still being applied to blood bank operations across the country. San Jose State University stopped sponsoring blood drives on its campus to protest what it calls discriminatory practices. Again, Supervisor Yeager:
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Santa Clara County Supervisors voted unanimously to formally oppose the FDA’s ban on homosexual men’s blood but the board didn’t go as far as San Jose State University has. Supervisor Pete McHugh registered his dissatisfaction saying the board should take a bolder move by stopping blood bank operations on county grounds.
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Former Supervisor of Disctrict 6, Peter Kutras, Jr. is now Santa Clara County Executive.
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Kutras says that the board should stay focused on getting more blood donors.
Supervisor Liz Kniss concurs.
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Reporting from San Jose for the KPFA evening news, I’m Rose Ketabchi.