(no subject)

[lady_t_220]

Well that's a move in the right direction at last-
Gay men will soon be able to donate blood after the Government moved to lift donor restrictions across the UK.
A lifetime ban was put in place in the UK in the 1980s as a response to the spread of Aids and HIV.
But the Department of Health has said men who have not had homosexual sex within a year will now be able to donate as of November 7.


Not entirely sure I understand the year thing as that still doesn't apply to heterosexual people (Shockingly, you can get HIV from shagging around with women too!) but it's better than the blanket no at least.

(I still think that it would make more sense if they went by how much casual sex you have rather than the gender of the people you're sleeping with. But what do I know. *shrugs*)


Today... nothing much of any interest is happening. About the only thing of note so far is that I was slightly chilly and put on an extra layer. This probably means that any remnants of summer are officially over.
I also need to ring the hairdresser, I just... haven't. I need about 4" cutting off at this point. I should probably get on that before it gets much longer.


Unrelated to any of that- N'awwwwwwwwww Mr Benny being self-depricating and rambly and quoting Kylie all in the same acceptance speech.
Dork.
*draws sparklehearts all over him*

Comments

[jaguarx13.livejournal.com]

Here they make you wait a year if you've recently gotten a tattoo, so homosexual sex isn't the only risky behavior they address. I really don't understand all the restrictions, given that they test the blood for everything under the sun before it's released to be used. Meh.

[lady-t-220.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if there's a tattoo-related thing in it, I've only looked through the questionarie once.

[xbedhead.livejournal.com]

There's a tattoo-related one in the US, but not sure about the UK. I think it should just be unprotected sex in general because, physically speaking, women are more likely to get HIV than men (heterosexual men, that is - I think there's more risk of tearing membranes/blood during anal sex, so that's probably where the homosexual thing came from).

[lady-t-220.livejournal.com]

The homosexual ban came from the 80s, it was blanket baned in the UK because HIV and AIDS were seen as a 'gay thing' and heterosexual people were considered to be at a lower risk. As you say though, it should be about unprotected sex in general at this point.

[katduza.livejournal.com]

I dont know if they make you wait for 6 months but they do want to know if you've had a piercing, tattoo or any un-NHS acupuncture.
They also want to know if you've traveled to the Americas, Africa or Asia and wether you were born any where odd....like me.

They are very, very picky...but I can understand it. This is something extremely important for people in life or death situations. I would rather them be choosey than risky. However it is nice to see that gay people finally get that blanket ban taken off. As I've said to Puppy before, I would rather blood from a faithful gay couple than from any straight person who sleeps around.