Top Doctor: ‘Gay’ Blood Will Taint U.S. Supply

Should homosexual men – a group with the highest HIV-infection rates in the nation – be allowed to donate blood?

That’s the question the federal government is considering this week as it re-evaluates whether it should lift the 30-year ban on homosexual blood donation.

On Thursday, members of the Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability will revisit the issue.

But a leading pathologist is warning that the move would heighten the risk of spreading HIV to other Americans.

‘Gay’ men have ‘much higher prevalence’ of HIV

Dr. Jay Brooks, an expert in blood banking and transfusion at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine, told WND the problem with “donations from men who’ve had sex with men is that they have a much higher prevalence of HIV than the heterosexual community.”

“They have a much higher prevalence,” he emphasized.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, released a 2010 analysis of heavily affected populations showing “men who have sex with men,” or MSM, account for a large majority of new HIV infections, much more so than even injection drug users, or IDUs:

In fact, “CDC estimates that MSM represent approximated 4 percent of the male population in the United States, but male-to-male sex accounted for more than three-fourths (78 percent) of new HIV infections among men and nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of all new infections in 2010.”

An estimated 1.1 million Americans are currently infected with HIV, and at least one quarter of those are said to be unaware of their infection. While some people experience symptoms early, others go years without experiencing any signs.

The CDC states: “Most people will develop antibodies that standard HIV tests can detect within 2-8 weeks (the average is 25 days). But, there is a chance that some people will take longer to develop antibodies. So, if you had risky sex or engaged in risky behavior with a person who has HIV or whose HIV status is unknown, you may need multiple tests to ensure you were not infected. … In very rare cases, it can take up to six months to develop antibodies to HIV.”  TRUNews