The Pulse nightclub shooting has started a conversation about FDA donor guidelines in Oxford, but when it comes to donating blood after a crisis, every drop counts.
Many in Oxford, as well as nationally, believe the 12-month deferral for gay and bisexual men who want to donate blood is obsolete and discriminatory to members of the LGBTQ+ community.
“World Blood Donor Day, June 14, occurred just two days after the mass shooting at Orlando Pulse nightclub,” said Jaime Cantrell, visiting assistant professor of English. “That gay and bisexual men were turned away from donating blood in Orlando is both insulting and horrific, adding another heart-wrenching dimension to the massacre.”
The FDA regulations for donors were amended from a lifetime ban to 12 months of celibacy in December 2015. Years after technology has advanced to detect the HIV virus, federal regulations have been slow to allow gay men the opportunity to contribute.
“The hateful root of the FDA’s ban on accepting blood from gay men stems from misinformation and hysteria surrounding HIV/AIDS, or what the CDC coined the ‘4H disease’ during the Reagan era: Any man who’d had sex with another man at any point between 1983 to December 2015 was banned from donating blood for life,” Cantrell said. “That some blood banks aren’t operating under the new, relaxed yet still discriminatory regulation is archaic, and life-costing given the extensive screening and testing done on donated blood.”
UM Pride Network president Spencer Pleasants said he believes the ban should be lifted, but blood should always be tested thoroughly.
Some argue that even with the ban in place, gay men are not completely prevented from donating blood.
“As a rule itself, I feel like it has good intentions of keeping blood donations healthy and HIV free,” UM Pride Network member Ryne Anderson said. “However, there’s no way of really verifying whether or not someone is telling the truth and actually hasn’t had sex.”
While the guidelines keep some potential donors away, blood banks are urging able donors to come forward.
“While the tragedy in Orlando is a very large scale, it shows how important it is to keep the blood center shelves stocked in the event of an emergency,” said Merle Eldridge, Mississippi Blood Services communication manager. “Mississippi has small scale emergencies every day from vehicle accidents to emergency surgeries to cancer treatment needs and we have to be prepared before these occur. As recently as yesterday, Tuesday, June 14, the O negative blood type shelf was empty after 13 units were sent to a local hospital for an unscheduled surgery.”
Several days following the the Pulse nightclub shooting, blood banks were drained. However, with the help of willing donors, the OneBlood blood bank that had supplied units was filled to capacity shortly after, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Currently, the Mississippi Blood Services resources for B positive and B negative blood types are classified as critical need and O positive, O negative and platelets are in severe shortages.
“We are in an extremely urgent need for many of our blood types and our priority is to ensure that it is available to the hospitals we serve here in Mississippi,” Eldridge said.
Lolita Gregory, regional operations manager for the Mississippi Blood Services in Oxford, said blood donated in Mississippi can be donated in honor of the victims, but will normally stay within the state to service day-to-day services that blood donations supply.
Gregory said in extreme cases, such as the Boston Marathon bombing on April 15, 2013, Mississippi has been called upon to donate units of blood to impacted areas, but Orlando has not requested additional help.
Gregory said while it is important to donate at the time of a crisis, individuals who commit to donating regularly are the “true heroes,” especially if they have a rare blood types or are universal donors.
Mississippi Blood Services is encouraging all donors to call 601-981-3232 or download the free mobile app to find a location or blood drive near them to help prevent an emergency from becoming a tragedy.
“We never know when we will get that call, but we never want people to wait until we get that call,” Gregory said.
