Letter to Editor: Man on a Mission
Dear Editor,
On May 15th of this year, Rusty Surette of the Oklahoma Red Cross mentioned their efforts to lift the FDA's ban on blood donation by "MSM." I would like to both applaud their efforts and mention others'.
Recently, a small effort in central Oklahoma has been collecting signatures for a petition urging the FDA to lift the lifetime ban on MSM blood donors and follow other countries by requiring that MSMs not be sexually active for one year prior to donating. This is longer than necessary for modern HIV tests, which are administered to all donated blood, to detect HIV.
Because these medical advances and the urgings of organizations nation-wide have not changed the FDA’s stance, it’s possible that its reasons are not medical in nature. Let them know that this is unacceptable for a federal administration to favor of personal bias over facts. Sign at www.tinyurl.com/6uofzju.
Thank you,
Michael K. Hernandez
Norman, OK