The compromise reached between the Leonard Carmichael Society (LCS) and Matt Pohl over the LCS's hosting of blood drives is a good one and provides hope for more, similar actions across academic America.
Pohl had originally complained to the Dean of Students office that the American Red Cross's restrictions on donating blood, implemented because of Food and Drug Administration guidelines, violated the University's non-discrimination policy. He deserves commendation for eschewing TCUJ proceedings in favor of mediation offered by Dean Reitman to both Pohl and the LCS. Such a constructive engagement reduced the adversarial nature of the proceedings and has resulted in a solution that keeps the blood drive on campus while addressing legitimate concerns raised by Pohl.
Throughout the process Pohl made it clear that his goal was not to eliminate the blood drives, but merely to open up a dialogue as to whether the blanket prohibition on donation by men who have had sex with men (MSM), even once, since 1977 was fair and grounded in science. Although the agreement reached yesterday is a positive first step towards examining these concerns in depth, the answers are far from clear.
The first and foremost concern behind guidelines for blood donation is to ensure the safety of the nation's blood supply. Concerns about blood supply safety are not abstract and reflect legitimate concerns about the transmission of HIV and other bloodborne ailments through blood products. Since no test is absolutely accurate, precautions are taken to limit the vulnerability of the blood from the supply end.
Blood is often received in dire life-and-death situations where the recipient is either unable to give informed consent for a transfusion or will die if he or she refuses such a transfusion. Since the nature of blood transfusions is such that they will rarely, if ever, be refused by the patient, it is essential that every precaution be taken to ensure that blood is free of contamination.
With that in mind, the jury is decidedly out on whether men who have sex with men will endanger the blood supply if they are allowed to donate. Although MSM do make up the largest proportion of new HIV cases, the extensive and redundant system of testing that the FDA mandates (and the Red Cross uses) may negate any risk caused by introducing MSM to the donor pool.
Perhaps even more importantly, allowing MSM to give blood will increase the amount of blood available for use by healthcare professionals. This will reduce the risk that someone in dire need of blood will be denied of transfusion because of supply problems, which have been prevalent in the American blood banks.
Regardless of what the eventual verdict is on the safety of blood from MSM and the fairness of the FDA and Red Cross policies, Pohl and the LCS have taken a positive and promising first step in opening a conversation regarding the issues raised by them. One can only hope that continued pressure on nonprofits and the government by groups like the LCS around the country will result in a policy that is both safe and fair to gay men. That is an outcome that everyone could live with.<$>
