Go Back   Flash Flash Revolution: Community Forums > General Discussion > Critical Thinking
Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-7-2008, 07:44 PM   #1
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default The Red Cross and blood donations

So, my school does this blood donations thing for seniors right? I went in there, they had a questionaire for me and i answered it. Then they denied my blood because i had come in sexual contact with another male within the last 30 years. I've only been alive for 17? So my question is should that 'rule' stay or go? or will it go?
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-7-2008, 07:52 PM   #2
rzr
TWG Veteran
 
rzr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: ƲƝƌƐƦ ƮĦƐ ƧƐȺ
Age: 29
Posts: 7,608
Send a message via AIM to rzr Send a message via MSN to rzr Send a message via Yahoo to rzr Send a message via Skype™ to rzr
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

That's a ****ed up rule. Unless they have scientific reasoning behind it, they need to jump off their high-horses and see the world we live in today.
__________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkshark View Post
Everyone sucks at this game. The second you think you're good is the second you stop trying to get better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aperson View Post
i had a mri the other day it was the best song i heard in years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprite-
More of a joke than the time I deleted all the credits on the site.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinaciousGrace View Post
yeah my goldfish think im a riot they do this thing where they turn upside down and float to the top of the tank

i guess their alcohol tolerance isnt as high as mine
rzr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-7-2008, 07:54 PM   #3
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

well that's my reality, I was denied because of that reason...Plus, they even told me they thought it was a ridiculous rule because they get the blood tested anywaYs.
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-7-2008, 08:01 PM   #4
rzr
TWG Veteran
 
rzr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: ƲƝƌƐƦ ƮĦƐ ƧƐȺ
Age: 29
Posts: 7,608
Send a message via AIM to rzr Send a message via MSN to rzr Send a message via Yahoo to rzr Send a message via Skype™ to rzr
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

That's probably just an extra safety precaution, nothing against you.
__________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkshark View Post
Everyone sucks at this game. The second you think you're good is the second you stop trying to get better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aperson View Post
i had a mri the other day it was the best song i heard in years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprite-
More of a joke than the time I deleted all the credits on the site.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinaciousGrace View Post
yeah my goldfish think im a riot they do this thing where they turn upside down and float to the top of the tank

i guess their alcohol tolerance isnt as high as mine
rzr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-7-2008, 08:44 PM   #5
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

yea, i'm sure. But it's still kind of aggravating they do have that stupid rule. she said that since I'm in the system, I'm technically banned from donating blood for the Red cross of course except for myself.
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-7-2008, 09:59 PM   #6
Cyanite
SIT THE **** DOWN.
FFR Simfile AuthorFFR Veteran
 
Cyanite's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Age: 29
Posts: 1,174
Send a message via AIM to Cyanite
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

It's a medical precaution they take to prevent killing someone with your donation.

Yes, they test the blood, but there's about a 1 in 1,000,000 failure rate in the testing method, and the Red Cross gets 20,000,000 donations of blood every year.

They're not picking on you.
__________________


Quote:
Originally Posted by KgZ View Post
oh yeah girls love it when I stick my massive arm in their mouth
Cyanite is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 12:36 AM   #7
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

So do they take the same precaution with any sexual activity? If that's the case, then how can they possibly get any donations at all?
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 12:43 AM   #8
NFD
FFR Player
 
NFD's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: I see us on a beach down in, Mexico
Age: 27
Posts: 4,570
Send a message via Skype™ to NFD
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

It's because you're gay.
__________________
NFD is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 12:56 AM   #9
rzr
TWG Veteran
 
rzr's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: ƲƝƌƐƦ ƮĦƐ ƧƐȺ
Age: 29
Posts: 7,608
Send a message via AIM to rzr Send a message via MSN to rzr Send a message via Yahoo to rzr Send a message via Skype™ to rzr
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Which is a factor that should be left out of the decision.
__________________

Quote:
Originally Posted by darkshark View Post
Everyone sucks at this game. The second you think you're good is the second you stop trying to get better.
Quote:
Originally Posted by aperson View Post
i had a mri the other day it was the best song i heard in years

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sprite-
More of a joke than the time I deleted all the credits on the site.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MinaciousGrace View Post
yeah my goldfish think im a riot they do this thing where they turn upside down and float to the top of the tank

i guess their alcohol tolerance isnt as high as mine
rzr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 08:39 AM   #10
kommisar[os]
Banned
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Moncton, NB, Canada
Age: 30
Posts: 4,097
Send a message via AIM to kommisar[os] Send a message via MSN to kommisar[os]
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Quote:
Originally Posted by NFD View Post
It's because you're gay.
i bet they'd refuse furries too
kommisar[os] is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 09:02 AM   #11
Cavernio
sunshine and rainbows
FFR Veteran
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Age: 38
Posts: 1,987
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

It's probably because as a percentage, the gay community has more STD's or maybe specifically just AIDS. But I actually have no idea, I'm just throwing that out there as to why they might be picking on gay people specifically. They could just be doing that because it's perceived that they've had more STDs in the past 30 years.
There's also many other questions that are asked that could be construed as 'in poor taste', where if you answer yes, you can't give blood. For instance, if you've travelled or lived in Africa or the UK.
Cavernio is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 02:56 PM   #12
Reach
FFR Simfile Author
Sectional ModeratorFFR Simfile AuthorFFR Veteran
 
Reach's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Canada
Age: 33
Posts: 7,462
Send a message via AIM to Reach Send a message via MSN to Reach
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

It's a bit silly in my opinion. The logic for the precaution usually goes as such: Since gay men make up a rather small % of the population (Around 5%?), and since as many as 20% of them are infected with AIDS, the risk of taking blood from them is not worth the extra blood.

I don't know the failure rates for blood testing, but they're quite low. Assuming they actually are 1 in a million though, I don't see the problem.

Crude calculations put maybe 30,000 men in Canada with AIDS that are gay (Assume ~5% of the population is gay and male, and 20% are infected, which I ripped quickly from google) . Another crude calculation based on a 0.3% infection rate of AIDS in the general population means that ~45,000 straight males are infected with AIDS.

Therefore, regardless of it being a high risk group in and of itself, it's still more likely for infected blood to be from a straight male. If they're desperate for blood, I don't see why they wouldn't take it, given how unlikely it is for the test to fail anyway.
__________________
Reach is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 04:38 PM   #13
devonin
Very Grave Indeed
FFR Simfile AuthorFFR Veteran
 
devonin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 36
Posts: 10,098
Send a message via AIM to devonin Send a message via MSN to devonin
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

The thing I find the most ridiculous is that in order to try and be as complete and non-offensive with overly blunt questions as possible, they go through the giant list of questions all of which could be covered under asking one or two specific overarching questions.

If they just opened with "Have you ever had sex" "Have you ever had unprotected sex" and "Have you ever had sex with a member of the same sex" and they got a no for any of those, they could just skip over a whole host of things that they end up asking you anyway.
devonin is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 04:48 PM   #14
Sh4d0wD3v1L
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Wisconsin
Age: 31
Posts: 691
Send a message via MSN to Sh4d0wD3v1L
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

I didn't read much of the thread but the OP, so sorry if I repeat someone.

Like I did read, the people accepting blood donations (Red Cross) don't want to run the risk of an individual having AIDS and not knowing it and then spreading it along. They also (as far as I know) refuse blood from people who had sexual contact with prostitutes for the same reason. That's why the "did you have sex with multiple partners..." is a question.

Additionally, it's not just sexual contact that can get you refused. I went in to donate after I had my eyebrow pierced, (about 4 months later) and I was refused. Didn't make a big deal out of it, they have good reason. If you donated, and had AIDS but didn't know it, (I'm not saying you do. I'm making a HUGE what if here) and neither did the blood center, then they transfused said blood into a sick individual who then contracted AIDS, there would be a HUGE controversy over the whole situation, and I'm sure even stricter rules would be enforced.

The important thing here is that you went to donate. At least you got that far. The majority of people as far as I know don't even make it there.
__________________
Funny stuff goes in this area right?
Sh4d0wD3v1L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 09:31 PM   #15
Grandiagod
FFR Player
 
Grandiagod's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: Feaefaw
Age: 32
Posts: 6,122
Send a message via AIM to Grandiagod Send a message via MSN to Grandiagod
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Quote:
Originally Posted by devonin View Post
"Have you ever had sex"
Are you suggesting only virgins should donate blood or was this not an example of your own opinion on the topic matter but rather an example of simplifying questions?
Grandiagod is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 10:24 PM   #16
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

@grandiagod
That's my question too...should virgins only donate blood? I think I read in the above posts that it's higher chance to get an HIV infected heterosexual than a homosexual one.
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 10:26 PM   #17
zhul4nder
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Posts: 231
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reach View Post
It's a bit silly in my opinion. The logic for the precaution usually goes as such: Since gay men make up a rather small % of the population (Around 5%?), and since as many as 20% of them are infected with AIDS, the risk of taking blood from them is not worth the extra blood.

I don't know the failure rates for blood testing, but they're quite low. Assuming they actually are 1 in a million though, I don't see the problem.

Crude calculations put maybe 30,000 men in Canada with AIDS that are gay (Assume ~5% of the population is gay and male, and 20% are infected, which I ripped quickly from google) . Another crude calculation based on a 0.3% infection rate of AIDS in the general population means that ~45,000 straight males are infected with AIDS.

Therefore, regardless of it being a high risk group in and of itself, it's still more likely for infected blood to be from a straight male. If they're desperate for blood, I don't see why they wouldn't take it, given how unlikely it is for the test to fail anyway.
wait, you're saying that 0.3% isn't including gay people?
__________________

[url=http://www.narutoflow.com/character-quiz/]Take the Naruto Character

for brawlers: 2836-1905-4019
I don't know how well it'll work, but give me a add , or pm me so i can add you.
zhul4nder is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-8-2008, 10:26 PM   #18
SithCait22
FFR Veteran
FFR Veteran
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Elyra, Ohio
Age: 29
Posts: 1,093
Send a message via Skype™ to SithCait22
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Im too lazy to read through all of this, but.......It's a thing about being gay. Someone at sometime in history implanted in the minds of everyone that gay men are the only ones who can get HIV/AIDS. You know that us gays are seriously the most destructive AIDS carrying ****ers in the whole world, right?

Its honestly stupid as hell. Lesbians? No they dont care. Its only the men. I remember seeing that at my school for LifeShare and i made a deal about it, i got suspended and all, but i made my point there.
__________________
Playing: DJMAX Technika 2
Location: Kalahari Resort, Sandusky Ohio
Join me?
SithCait22 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-9-2008, 10:22 AM   #19
Lipidman
FFR Player
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Melbourne, Australia
Posts: 151
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

There are statistics which suggest that lesbians are the least likely to contract any form of STI, less so than straight women. I don't blame them for discriminating against males.

Honestly, though, I think it's pretty crude of them to constantly ask for donations -usually advertising a shortage of them as incentive- then to outright deny an entire population of people from donating simply because they've had sex with another male, which might or might not have last occured at a time before the people working at the donation facilities were even born.

When donating in Australia, the questionnaire suggests a 12 month deferral in the event that you have had sex with someone who may be gay/bi/suspected of having AIDS/HIV. I suppose that means we're a little more lenient? Though I'm not sure why they recommend waiting a year. It's not like STI's suddenly go away on their own.
__________________
I think therefore I am.

Last edited by Lipidman; 10-9-2008 at 10:25 AM..
Lipidman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-9-2008, 12:32 PM   #20
devonin
Very Grave Indeed
FFR Simfile AuthorFFR Veteran
 
devonin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada
Age: 36
Posts: 10,098
Send a message via AIM to devonin Send a message via MSN to devonin
Default Re: The Red Cross and blood donations

Presumably because in a year, you'd have started showing symptoms of anything you may have contracted, and thus presumably either been tested, or concluded that since nothing showed up, that you aren't infected.
devonin is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump



All times are GMT -5. The time now is 11:01 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.1
Copyright ©2000 - 2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright FlashFlashRevolution