To the FDA, everyone transgender is a gay man

[stephaniec]

http://www.advocate.com/health/2015/02/02/fda-everyone-transgender-gay-man

The Advocate/by Dawn Ennis   2/2/2015

'There's a secret in the Federal Blood Donation policy: it treats all transgender people- male or female- like they're gay or bisexual men.'

[Jill F]

WTF!?  That's the dumbest thing I've heard in a long time.  All I ever hear is that there is always a shortage of blood.

Seriously, I have yet to have sex with a guy, but it's presumed that I do?  Dumb dumb dumb.

[Jake25]

Something really ironic is I'm homoromantic and abstinent but if I put I was a transexual man and not a woman they would discriminate against me. Straight cis people seem to have more sex than anyone.

[Cindy]

Maybe we should start an advertising campaign. "Transgender people support the ban to prevent the transgender gene being passed on."

When we get support from the religious right we can then say, well you are now saying there is a biological reason and being TG is not choice, so give us our rights.

[qwerty108109]

I revisited this article I still can't believe what it says. Makes me pretty frustrated.

[AndrewB]

If they don't want my blood, no skin off my back. I donated once about 6 months ago, before I was legally or medically transitioning, but these policies are seriously outdated and I'm tempted just to boycott donating blood altogether. Even the FDA's "lift" on homosexual men, so long as they abstain from sex for a whole year? God, that's just hilarious, if they think they're going to get people abstaining that long just to donate blood. They might as well have not lifted the ban at all, for all the good it did. Even though all my documents point to male now, across the board, if I were to have that long of a dry spell, I certainly wouldn't celebrate it at this point with a blood donation.

[VeryGnawty]

This isn't really a secret.  The FDA has had stupid policies for a long time, particularly in regards to blood donations.

[rachel89]

No, trans people are not gay men, unless they are gay trans men. Even then, the blood ban is really outdated.

[Amy1988]

http://www.advocate.com/health/2015/02/02/fda-everyone-transgender-gay-man

The Advocate/by Dawn Ennis   2/2/2015

'There's a secret in the Federal Blood Donation policy: it treats all transgender people- male or female- like they're gay or bisexual men.'

I don't donate blood anyway.  The whole industry is a sham.  They don't pay you but then turn around and make a huge profit. Screw that!

Language warning, again.

[DanielleA]

It is disgusting that people are treated this way. I am petrified of needles and still have considered donating blood. Not any more though.