- #Why can gay men donate blood one day a year drivers
- #Why can gay men donate blood one day a year update
Though HIV arrived in the United States around 1970, it didn’t come to the public’s attention until the early 1980s. READ MORE: Pandemics That Changed History: A Timeline The AIDS Epidemic Arises International travel from the United States helped the virus spread across the rest of the globe. The virus spread may have spread from Kinshasa along infrastructure routes (roads, railways, and rivers) via migrants and the sex trade. Researchers believe the first transmission of SIV to HIV in humans that then led to the global pandemic occurred in 1920 in Kinshasa, the capital and largest city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. SIVcpz likely jumped to humans when hunters in Africa ate infected chimps, or the chimps’ infected blood got into the cuts or wounds of hunters. These two strains likely combined to form SIVcpz, which can spread between chimpanzees and humans. Chimps, the scientist later discovered, hunt and eat two smaller species of monkeys-red-capped mangabeys and greater spot-nosed monkeys-that carry and infect the chimps with two strains of SIV. In 1999, researchers identified a strain of chimpanzee SIV called SIVcpz, which was nearly identical to HIV. Maybe someone else will be mine one day, and I don't get to return that favor," Schlaikowski said.Scientists have traced the origin of HIV back to chimpanzees and simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV), an HIV-like virus that attacks the immune system of monkeys and apes.
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"Why can't I be someone's hero? Someone else can be mine. The institute concludes that increase could help save over one million lives.
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The Red Cross is currently conducting research in hopes it will help lead to changes in eligibility.Īccording to a study from UCLA's Williams Institute, lifting the restrictions on men who have sex with men could increase annual blood supply by two to four percent. And the one thing that I can do that doesn't cost money is donate the blood that I have, but I can't," Schlaikowski said.īoth the Red Cross and the American Medical Association have also previously urged the FDA to lift the restrictions. "I see these tragic things happen across the country, like what happened in Waukesha. But he wants to do more and said if he could, he'd donate blood every six weeks because his blood type is O-negative and in high demand. Schlaikowski already helps his community in many ways by supporting LGBTQ youth at the Courage MKE group home. Everyone's blood needs to be tested before it's given to someone else." "It's not just the gay community that contracts HIV and AIDS, it's not just the gay community.
#Why can gay men donate blood one day a year drivers
"I can donate my kidneys, I can donate my organs on my drivers license, but I cannot donate my blood because of who I love," said Schlaikowski.
#Why can gay men donate blood one day a year update
Senators, including Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin (D), was sent asking the FDA "to quickly act on the best available science and update its outdated and discriminatory blood donor deferral policies."īrad Schlaikowski, the Executive Director of Courage MKE, said he's long been frustrated by the policy. In the last week, national advocacy groups have been vocal about urging the FDA to change the policy. That restriction was shortened from 12 months when the pandemic began in 2020. But the current shortage has also renewed a call to lift restrictions on gay and bisexual men to donate blood.Īccording to FDA policy, men who have sex with men have to remain celibate for three months before donating blood to prevent HIV transmission. The Red Cross says the shortage is partly due to a decrease in donors since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
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At times, as much as one-quarter of hospital blood needs are not being met."
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The organization called the shortage a crisis and the worst in more than a decade.Īccording to a release, "in recent weeks, the Red Cross had less than a one-day supply of critical blood types and has had to limit blood product distributions to hospitals. MILWAUKEE - Last week the Red Cross announced a national blood shortage that could put patients at risk.