The HHS, or Health and Human Services Advisory Committee has voted to keep the ban on blood donated by gay men. Forget that this decision is against all scientific fact. Forget that Congress urged them to drop it. Forget that the American Red Cross, the AMA, America's Blood Centers and the American Association of Blood Banks have all urged them to drop it, and certainly forget that the ban on gay men donating blood is irrational and has no foundation in truth or logic.

So if you're a man who's had sex with another man at least once since 1977 you cannot donate blood.

And we continue to slide backward into oblivion.

The Federal Advisory Committee on Blood Safety & Availability will take up the issue of the gay blood donation ban which has barred gay men from donating blood since 1983. It was instituted at the time because of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, to protect the general public.

Things are different now. First of all, we all understand now that AIDS is not a gay disease, and that it effects all populations. Second, in 1983 we didn't have the technology to detect the disease in donated blood. Now, all donated blood is screened for HIV before being allowed in to the nation's blood supply. Still, the current guidelines of the Food and Drug Administration state that any man who has had sex with another man since 1977, even if it was only once, is barred from donating blood.

The issue will be taken up on June 10th & 11th, and recommendations will be made to the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the FDA.

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Tuesday, May. 11, 2010 By Brad Branan / The Fresno Bee

The Fresno County Board of Supervisors today narrowly approved a cost-cutting plan that includes closure of the county's only AIDS clinic.

The county will eliminate 47 public health positions, 15 of which are currently filled, by June 28. The cuts were requested by Public Health Director Edward Moreno, who said they were necessary to offset a projected $5 million budget shortfall in the fiscal year starting July 1.

Supervisors approved his plan by a 3-2 vote, with Susan Anderson and Henry Perea in opposition. Perea said the move will further reduce the county's safety net for people in need of social services.

Anderson shared his concerns, and added that she thought the cuts should be discussed in upcoming budget talks.

Moreno said he wanted the cuts in place sooner so the county can experience the savings as quickly as possible. Otherwise, more cuts would be needed, he said.

The county will continue to provide testing for HIV -- the virus that causes AIDS -- but will stop providing testing and other services for other sexually transmitted diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhea. The end of those services worries some public-health advocates, who note that Fresno County has high rates for such diseases.

Gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease which is expected to reach 700,000 cases this year alone, may soon become impossible to treat. It's already resistant to most treatments and may soon be immune to that. Unless new drugs are created to fight it, experts predict a health disaster in our future.

It's not the only STD becoming difficult to treat. Chlamydia and Syphilis are showing signs of resistance to drugs.

Of course, the best way to be safe is to always use condoms and to be checked regularly. Some STD's are alive and well in people who don't even know they have a problem. Please visit our LINKS & COMMUNITY page by clicking the menu on the main page. Under local links, you'll find links for THE FRESNO COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT, which provides services and information on these matters.  

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