Here’s a new inequity to add to the list: The FDA rejects your organ donation—simply because you’re gay.
That’s what happened to A.J. Betts, a 16-year-old Iowan who committed suicide after a year and a half of ceaseless bullying on account of his orientation. Betts had always hoped to donate his organs after he died, and though some were successfully transplanted,
his eyes were turned away and tossed out. Why? According to the Food
and Drug Administration, a male donor who has had sex with men in the
last five years “should … be ineligible” to donate some tissues,
including eyes. (This policy is especially perplexing given that donors
are screened for HIV
before any organs are harvested, and Betts was permitted to donate
other organs, including his heart.) Because Moore’s mother couldn’t
prove whether Betts had had sex, his eyes were discarded.
his eyes were turned away and tossed out. Why? According to the Food
and Drug Administration, a male donor who has had sex with men in the
last five years “should … be ineligible” to donate some tissues,
including eyes. (This policy is especially perplexing given that donors
are screened for HIV
before any organs are harvested, and Betts was permitted to donate
other organs, including his heart.) Because Moore’s mother couldn’t
prove whether Betts had had sex, his eyes were discarded.
The FDA’s anti-gay organ policies spring from the same insanely homophobic casuistry
behind their anti-gay blood ban: an outdated, utterly irrational belief
that all gay men are HIV-ridden disease vectors. Never mind that modern
HIV tests can detect the virus from the moment of infectiousness,
or that men who have sex with HIV-positive women and sex workers are
only deferred for a year—or that a categorical ban on gays is just plain bad science. Other countries may lift their own gay blood bans, and medical experts may urge the FDA to revise its policies. But here in America, gay men’s bodies are still seen as blighted, dangerous, and infected.
behind their anti-gay blood ban: an outdated, utterly irrational belief
that all gay men are HIV-ridden disease vectors. Never mind that modern
HIV tests can detect the virus from the moment of infectiousness,
or that men who have sex with HIV-positive women and sex workers are
only deferred for a year—or that a categorical ban on gays is just plain bad science. Other countries may lift their own gay blood bans, and medical experts may urge the FDA to revise its policies. But here in America, gay men’s bodies are still seen as blighted, dangerous, and infected.
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