Apr 15, 2008 11:59 pm US/Pacific
Campus Blood Drive Ban At SJSU To Stay In Effect
SAN JOSE (BCN) ―
Amidst growing support from local government officials, the San Jose State University president announced Tuesday that the school's blood drive suspension will continue in an effort to urge the Food and Drug Administration to change its ban on accepting blood donations from gay men.
U.S. Reps. Mike Honda, Zoe Lofgren and Sam Farr issued a letter to the FDA asking the agency to consider updating the 16-year-old policy. In addition, Farr reportedly butted heads with FDA officials on the science behind the policy at a House Appropriations Committee hearing April 2.
"I am pleased to receive support from the congressional delegation for Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Monterey counties," President Don Kassing said in a prepared statement. "However, San Jose State's campus blood drive suspension will remain in place.
"I remain steadfast in my belief that the FDA's lifetime blood donor deferral affecting gay men violates our non-discrimination policy. Our policy is much more than a regulation. It is an expression of values we all share, most notably our core belief that people must be treated as individuals, free of prejudice."
Kassing first announced the suspension of campus blood drives in a letter released Jan. 29, causing an outcry from local blood collection agencies like the Stanford Blood Center.
According to the FDA policy, men who have had sex with other men since 1977 cannot donate blood because of their increased exposure to HIV, hepatitis B and other infections that can be transmitted by transfusion.
"In the past two decades, we've made great strides in ensuring our blood supply is safe, but our policies have not kept pace," Farr said in a statement."
"Along with my alma mater, San Jose State, I strongly encourage the FDA to reevaluate the technologies available to them so we can expand the pool of eligible blood donors, increase our available blood supply and continue to save people's lives in a morally and scientifically responsible manner," said Honda.
The FDA has said it does monitor scientific literature and consults with experts on the matter but will only change its policy when it feels blood from gay men is as safe as blood from currently accepted donors.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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