Two More San Jose Schools Ban Blood Drives
Following in the footsteps of San Jose State University, the San Jose Evergreen Community College District has also banned campus blood drives because of its commitment to nondiscrimination policies, the Spartan Daily reports.
Because of FDA guidelines, gay men are not allowed to give blood—a policy that conflicts with the district's promise to uphold nondiscrimination "at all costs," as the chancellor put it. Evergreen Valley College and San Jose City College are the two schools that will be affected by the ban.
Tags: San Jose State University
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Basic Discrimination
The FDA's policies are beyond outdated. The original reason for this restriction was to make sure that donated blood was not tainted by HIV or AIDS. Yes, 48 percent of AIDS cases were contracted from Male-Male sexual contact, but all blood banks now test for HIV/AIDS in their blood. That being the case, what is the FDA's reason for keeping this restriction? It boils down to basic discrimination. This is not a case of being overly PC, this was an attempt to force the FDA to get rid of an outmoded restriction. As quoted in this article, Kassing "hope[s]... that the FDA will revisit its deferral policy in a timely manner...". He obviously dislikes his policy as much as his critics, but he cannot allow discrimination on his campus. The only ideology that has lead to flawed public policy is the FDA's policy to keep outmoded restrictions. When the FDA sees its policy for what it is and decides to change it, only then can we break the chains of hate and discrimination.
banning blood drive
i think its wonderful that someone is taking a stand
its actions like these that will make a difference in the long run
banned blood drives
I wonder if the Red Cross can withhold blood from any employees of these colleges when they need it? If the schools want to uphold nondiscrimination at all costs, let the lack of blood for themselves be their cost. Let the blood go instead to people who work for organizations that support blood drives.
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