ASUW voted to ban certain blood drives on campus Nov. 15. The senators argued that major blood drive companies, such as the American Association of Blood Banks and the American Red Cross, discriminate against gay men by not allowing them to donate blood. The bill has good intentions, but is only a small ripple in the ocean of the national blood drives.
I believe that blood drives that automatically ban gay men from donating blood are a form of well-justified discrimination. When HIV/AIDS was first diagnosed it was found primarily in gay men. For years a high concentration of the infection was found in gay men, but by no means were they the only group affected. Today, African American women are the highest risk group, but they are allowed to donate.
Before donating blood, you are asked questions about your personal life and sexual preferences that serve as a way to weed out donors with a high probability of having HIV/AIDS.
Statistically speaking, gay men have a higher chance of having the infection, but that does not mean that all gay men who want to donate are infected. All donated blood is tested for HIV/AIDS, and ruling out gay men is only a preventive measure.
I have witnessed the heartbreak associated with being told you cannot donate blood due to your sexual orientation. Gay men can feel that they are caught in a bit of a catch-22. They can be honest about their sexual orientation and be turned away or lie and donate anyway. ASUW’s bill wants to right the wrong and make it so no one is turned away from donating blood because of his or her sexuality.
ASUW’s bill attempts to eliminate discrimination on campus, but sadly the blood banks are not going to change their policies.
Hospitals thrive on blood donations, and if they cannot come to campus, they will go to other outlets to find donors. Yes, it is convenient to donate blood in the Union after class, but Biolife is still just a quick car ride away for most students. The bill is a positive step, but it lacks staying power. Last year, the smoke-free campus bill was passed, but just because something passes in the student government does not mean it can become official university policy.
Students light up in Prexies every day, and the bill does little to hinder their efforts. The blood bank bill, like the smoking ban, exists on paper, but until the board of trustees passes it, it will only exist as an idea. As UW Memes for Great Success posted: “A bill hoping to ban blood drives on campus? I bet blood banks will take you just as seriously as the student body does.”
