Back in 1982, when I was 7 years old, there was this thing called GRID. Ever heard of it? Also known as Gay-related immune deficiency or sometimes called the "gay plague". I know you are sitting there and some of you know what I am talking about and others are like I have no clue what you are talking about. Well GRID, as it was called, later became known as AIDS. Now I know you know what that is. The reason why it was called that because there was a large number of homosexual men that was coming down with it. Liberace for example even the lead singer of Queen, Freddy Mercury.
Homosexual men, because there was lot of unprotected sex going on, became known as the big carriers of this disease and also because it was homosexual men that the symptoms first started popping up on. It was known that GRID was being spread through sexual promiscuity and through the use of intravenous drugs and poppers.
Later on the disease became known as AIDS, acquired immune deficiency syndrome. There was no way to treat AIDS at that time. There was no medications and the only thing doctors knew to do was to treat the symptoms of the disease and not the disease itself. Many, many wonderful people's lives were cut short by this disease. It truly was a horrible time for the gay community and later others as it became realized that not only homosexuals carry this disease.
On April 23, 1984, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary announced that they probable cause of AIDS have been discovered and in 1986 they discovered the human immunodeficiency virus, HIV.
Ok so I am not going to give you the whole history of HIV just know that because AIDS, which is still known as the "gay plague", is very prominent in gay men that homosexuals became barred from donating blood.
As I write these blogs I do a lot of research. I want to make sure my information is correct and I am sitting here at my desk right now and I am looking at the CDC page.
http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/statistics/basics/ataglance.html
They have fun facts on this page that I am going to share with you.
- More than 1.1 million people in the United States are living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 5 (18.1%) are unaware of their infection
- Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM),1 particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.
- By race, blacks/African Americans face the most severe burden of HIV.
So here is the thing. With the new technology and tests that are coming out. There are a million ways that you can find out if you are HIV positive. They even have tests know where you can be tested and I think it is like an hour later you can find out the results. Even though we have these tests, homosexuals are still barred from giving blood. Another thing is to that even though homosexuals have a high chance of getting HIV, blacks also have a high chance of getting HIV too. I don't know why this is. And it is not just black men who also have sex with other men.
Here is a fun fact, African Americans represent 12 percent of the United States population, but they also accounted for an estimated 44 percent of new HIV infections in 2010. Yet they are allowed to donate blood. Unless things changes and estimated 1 in 16 black men and 1 in 32 black women will be diagnosed with the HIV infection at some point in their lifetime. These are staggering numbers.
But on the other hand, gay men represent 4 percent of the United States population and they account for 78 percent of new HIV infections among males and 63 percent of all new infections.
So the point that I am trying to make is yes gays still do represent a high number of HIV infections but so do African Americans and yet gay people are barred from giving blood even with all the new tests and equipment out there.
So here come the thing that I am asking. There is a petition that I am going to link here in a second asking for the bar to be lifted from homosexuals to donate blood. After going to the CDC site and reading the numbers that I posted you may not want to sign the petition. But here is the thing. Not all gay people have HIV. There is still a large number of people out there who do not have the disease and can donate blood to help replenish blood banks for hospitals and like the American Red Cross. I feel that it is discriminatory to not let homosexuals donate blood even through there are so many tests and to allow blacks, who is another high case, to donate blood. I understand that in the 1980s it was known as the "gay plague" but that is not the case now. HIV and AIDS show up in all races, in all walks of life, from children to the elderly. All blood is tested before it is put to use anyhow, no matter if you are gay or not, white or black, asian or hispanic. So why not allow gay people to donate blood also. Why are we the ones that are being discriminated against when other people are not.
Everyone has diversed opinions on this and it is fine. I understand that but now I am going to post the link for the change.org site and allow you to make the choice. Will you sign the petition for me and other homosexuals allowing us to donate blood. The choice is yours.
Please make the right decision and sign.
Thank you,
Dave
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