The morality of gay bodily donations

[Silver]

As has been touched upon in another thread, most people agree that it is ridiculous for the medical profession to refuse blood donations from homosexual men who are sexually active.

My question centers around the morality of lying to medical professionals about one's sexual orientation in order to donate blood nonetheless. Is it morally advisable for sexually active homosexual men to lie in order to donate blood, plasma, organs?

I personally believe it is morally acceptable to lie in this instance.

[Chad32]

Unless they can determine a person's sexuality by blood or body parts, I don't see any reason they shouldn't just lie for the greater good.

[KUSA]

Everybody lies multiple times each day whether you realize it or not. The morality comes in to play if you are trying to cause harm to someone.

[SteelCurtain]

Lying for personal gain is a moral issue. If you are sure you don't have any STIs, then there is no reason you shouldn't donate blood.

[Silver]

If you are sure you don't have any STIs, then there is no reason you shouldn't donate blood.

I was under the impression that they always tested the blood after it has been donated, just to be on the safe side.

[SteelCurtain]

I'm sure they do, but for some STIs, blood tests are less than conclusive.

They want to eliminate higher risk populations. That's why if you've even been in prison for more than 30 days, ever had Hep C, ever used IV drugs, you can't donate either. It's not necessarily because people don't want "gay" blood. Although I'm sure there are some ignorant yokels out there who think you can "catch the gay from that there blood."

[paulpablo]

I just read up on this and the list of people they don't want blood from is pretty vast. I wouldn't be allowed to give blood myself because I've just had a tattoo done in the last 4 months.

You may not be able to donate blood if:

you have had a serious illness or major surgery in the past
you have had complicated dental work (it is safe to donate blood 24 hours after having a filling or seven days after a simple extraction)
you have recently come into contact with an infectious disease
you have had certain immunisations within the last four weeks
you are currently on a hospital waiting list, or waiting to have tests

You should not give blood if:

you have a chesty cough, sore throat or an active cold sore
you are taking antibiotics or have finished a course of antibiotics in the last seven days
you are pregnant or have given birth in the last six months
you have had hepatitis A or jaundice in the last 12 months
you have had an ear piercing or body piercing in the last four months
you have had a tattoo in the last four months
a member of your immediate family has had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare condition that affects the nervous system and causes brain damage
you have had acupuncture in the last four months, unless this was done within the NHS or by a qualified healthcare professional registered with a statutory body
you have visited a part of the world where malaria is common in the last six months
you have received human pituitary extract (a substance used in some growth hormone and fertility treatments before 1985)
you have received blood during the course of a medical treatment or procedure since 1980

You should not donate blood for 12 months after having sex with:

a prostitute
someone who has injected drugs
someone who has haemophilia (a condition that stops your blood from clotting normally)
someone who has been sexually active in parts of the world where AIDS and HIV are common, such as sub-Saharan Africa
a man who has had oral or anal sex with another man (if you are female)
a man (if you are male)

As of November 2011, a man who has sex with men can donate blood provided they have not had anal or oral sex with a man during the past 12 months (even with a condom). Previously, men who had sex with men were not allowed to donate blood.

You should never donate blood if:

you have ever had HIV
you have ever had hepatitis C
you have ever had syphilis
you have ever had human t-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
you have ever injected yourself with drugs
you have ever worked as a prostitute

Here's a list from the NHS. I suppose they're just trying to be careful.

[Lemonvariable72]

It does not seem like the intent is to discriminate, it is rather that HIV is difficult and expensive to test for in blood.

[John V]

There's months of lag between date of HIV infection and time it will be detected by the tests commonly used on blood donations. If you fall into one of the excluded categories, you are at higher risk for HIV than the general population, and the tests might not pick it up. Lying in such instance seems pretty immoral to me.

[max-greece]

Until recently you couldn't give blood in Greece if you had lived in the UK during the 1980's. It was the scare over BSE I think. Probably right to eliminate me - I virtually lived on burgers during the '80s.

Looking at the current NHS rules it all seems a bit draconian. Can't give blood within 4 months of getting you're ears pierced... Fuck me!

No botty sex for 12 months. You gotta really really want to give blood for that one.

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If its your thing of course....