UA takes on blood drive issue

On Sunday, the Undergraduate Assembly urged the University to examine whether the presence of on-campus blood collectors who are bound by an FDA policy banning certain blood donors violates Penn's non-discrimination policy.

Despite a national blood shortage, millions are prohibited from donating by the Federal Drug Administration's lifetime ban on men who have had sex with men (MSM) since 1977. The FDA argues that this type of sexual activity puts them at a higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted diseases that could be then transmitted through blood transfusions.

After a controversial, lengthy debate, the Blood Donor Discrimination Proposal passed by a margin of 17 to 9 with three abstentions, College senior and UA chairman Jason Karsh said.

When Lambda Alliance first raised the blood policy issue at a University Council meeting last March, the UC never followed up, said Wharton and College junior, UA member and DP columnist Lisa Zhu, who coauthored the proposal on behalf of the UA.

The proposal is an attempt to revive the University-wide debate and "pressure the administration to reevaluate their stance," said Karsh.

The UA is currently in talks with the President's Office, the Office of the Provost and other relevant administrators to "see what the best plan of action is," he said.

"This is a huge step for Penn's LGBT community and for Penn itself," said College senior Kevin Rurak, who co-sponsored the proposal on behalf of Lambda Alliance. "With this vote, the UA is continuing to uphold Penn's reputation as a strong leader in LGBT rights and equality."

The Penn precedent for taking such action, said Rurak, is the University's acknowledgement that its non-discrimination policy is violated by a federal law saying military recruiters must be allowed on campus.

In that situation, the administration amended the University's Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy to urge the Department of Defense to change its "don't ask, don't tell" military policy. The Blood Donor Discrimination Proposal asks the University to do the same for FDA blood donation guidelines.

In 2006, the American Association of Blood Banks, America's Blood Centers and the American Red Cross issued a statement encouraging the FDA to modify its policy by imposing the same yearlong deferral on MSM donors as is required for high-risk heterosexual donors.

"The major blood drive collection agencies on the front lines collecting blood say there's no scientific basis, and [the ban] is no longer relevant," Zhu said. Now, she added, it's Penn's turn.

While some schools, including the University of New Hampshire, have urged the FDA to change its policy, no institution with as prestigious a medical reputation as Penn has made such a statement, said Wharton sophomore and Lambda Alliance chairperson Dennie Zastrow.

"Penn could end up setting the bar," he said.

But some argue Penn has no responsibility or right to do so.

Wharton senior and UA member Alex Flamm, who voted against the proposal, wrote in an e-mail that while he supports the switch to a yearlong deferral, "the FDA's rules are simply not a clear violation of Penn's anti-discrimination policy."

While Flamm wrote that he agrees with the end goals, he does not support University action based on "flimsy arguments of unfair discrimination" rather than on "a serious discussion of the costs versus benefits of changing the ban."

Despite these objections, the proposal is a step forward for the LGBT community on campus, said director of LGBT Center Bob Schoenberg, who called the passage "a victory." But, he continued, "there's a lot more that needs to be done."

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