Counterpoint | Caution is not discrimination

Does the FDA's policy of banning males who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood violate Penn's non-discrimination policy?

Absolutely, but so do comedy troupes that don't allow women and a capella groups that exclude men. The University also sanctions registered parties where only people past a certain age can drink (blatant ageism) - unless one of their friends is conniving enough to figure out how to remove a bracelet.

Obviously, the University isn't truly free of discrimination. If it were, I would have rushed Tri-Delt years ago - if only for the pajama parties I imagine take place every Tuesday.

In practical terms, the University discriminates between discrimination. It separates cases that violate only the wording of the policy from those that violate its intent - to prevent prejudice and injustice.

And that's why the ban on MSM donors isn't discriminatory. There's a reason the FDA upheld it.

According to the FDA's Web site, "Even taking into account that 75 percent of HIV infected men who have sex with men already know they are HIV positive and would be unlikely to donate blood, the HIV prevalence in potential donors with history of male sex with males is 200 times higher than first-time blood donors and 2,000 times higher than repeat blood donors."

Because of this risk, all MSM are banned for life from donating blood. People who've used intravenous drugs or paid for sex are also banned for life. In addition, people who have had sexual contact with any of the banned parties are deferred from giving blood for 12 months.

The UA proposal does not contend that the FDA lift the MSM ban completely but instead move to a 12 month deferral period - a position the Red Cross supports. College senior Kevin Rurak, who co-sponsored the proposal, said that though the ban made sense at the time, its need has passed. "The face of AIDS is completely different. It's not just gay men getting AIDS." Because of changing demographics and improvements in testing methods, he thinks MSM donors should be put in the same category as others who have had high-risk sexual contact.

The problem with that theory is that by design, MSM contact is riskier than other sexual contact. Sparing everyone the details, if a man and a woman both sleep with an MSM carrying HIV, the man is more likely to contract the virus. This is one of the reasons HIV is so prevalent in the gay community.

Both the Red Cross and Rurak believe that more accurate testing has eliminated the need for a lifetime ban on MSM donors.

The FDA doesn't agree. While it acknowledges that there is almost no risk of not detecting HIV contracted over a year ago, "Collection of blood from persons with an increased risk of HIV infection also presents an added risk to transfusion recipients due to the possibility that blood may be accidentally given to a patient in error either before testing is completed or following a positive test."

Considering that there are over 20 million blood transfusions in the U.S. every year, how much should we trust the staff at hospitals and the Red Cross to handle blood correctly?

Mistakes happen. Things get mislabeled. And when the day gets long, do you want people to deal with the pre-screened blood or a version with 200 to 2,000 times the likelihood of HIV?

Also, it's troubling that while the proposal states that a lifetime ban is discriminatory, it champions a one-year deferral period.

When I asked Rurak why he thought a one-year deferral wasn't discriminatory, he replied, "We're still at high risk."

That's a very logical response. But if both the Lamda Alliance and the Red Cross agree that some sort of restriction is justified, the FDA is only guilty of being overly cautious - not being discriminatory.

That's just how it should be. They're responsible for making sure the blood supply is safe, not ensuring equal rights.

If the demographics of HIV were to change, I would be absolutely in favor of lifting the ban. But we're not there yet, and it doesn't look like it's happening anytime soon. According to the CDC, from 2001-2005 nearly 50 percent of new HIV cases involved MSM.

Until that number goes down, the Lamda Alliance and the University should focus more on preventing the spread of HIV through MSM and less on labeling things as "discriminatory."

Collin Beck is a College senior from Minot, N.D. His e-mail is beck@dailypennsylvanian.com. The Dakota Kid appears alternating Thursdays.

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