YOUNG-WHITE: With a vaccine still about a year away,
medical experts are looking at other ways
to treat COVID-19 patients,
and there's one thing right now that seems to be working.
-Convalescent plasma. -Convalescent plasma.
Convalescent plasma.
YOUNG-WHITE: Plasma. Actually,
the plasma of recovered COVID patients,
it's the one thing right now
more valuable than toilet paper.
If you've recovered from COVID-19,
doctors want your blood.
So I sat down with two people who might be able to help.
Do you... do you still have COVID,
-or, like, how does that work? -(laughs)
No, I'm good. I-I was cleared.
I-I've been without symptoms
for about 30 or 30-some days now.
So, I've been symptom-free from coronavirus
for about three weeks, and I'm basically recovered.
So, can you explain to me
what convalescent plasma treatment is?
Yeah, that's where people donate plasma
to get people better.
Oh, okay. Right, right, right, right, right.
That's the therapy that Madonna uses on her face
where she takes the blood of her 20-year-old lovers
to look younger. Okay.
Uh, so, it's not exactly that.
But what happens is people who have coronavirus,
their immune systems develop antibodies against the virus,
and the treatment gives those antibodies
to people who are dying from the disease
so that the antibodies can fight the virus for them
so they recover more quickly.
Wow, that-that's really dope that you donated plasma
and took time to think about other people during a pandemic.
That's pretty laudable.
We didn't.
-It's-it's not quite that easy. -Why...
Wh-Why is that?
Uh, I'm gay.
I'm gay, too. And the FDA says
that we are not allowed to donate blood.
So you can't donate blood because you're gay.
-Pretty much. -Oh, shit.
Mm. Here we go.
Back in 1983, the FDA banned gay men from donating blood.
This was during the AIDS crisis,
which was another disease that the government
didn't do shit about until it was far too late.
In 2015, that ban was lifted,
but if a gay man wanted to donate blood,
he just couldn't have sex for 12 months.
That's some straight-up Mike Pence shit right there.
But now in the middle of this pandemic,
the FDA relaxed their bullshit policy
to three month of abstinence.
That's, like, an entire cuffing season.
Like, where are you gonna find a man
who hasn't had sex in three months?
So, I'm actually eligible to donate
for the first time since I was 18.
Oh, boom!
So, after a few rounds of screenings,
I was given an appointment to donate.
So, what are gay blood drives like now?
Like, is everybody on Molly
and listening to the new Dua Lipa album?
Yeah, it wasn't quite like that.
Um, after I arrived and was preparing to donate
through the New York Blood Center,
they asked me why I hadn't donated since I was 18.
I volunteered I was gay, and that's when they told me
they're not yet recognizing the new relaxed deferral,
and so they weren't willing to accept my donation.
Wow. They are making it really hard for you guys.
You know, if you want them to take your blood,
you can't just reveal that you're gay.
You're gonna have to pass as a straight guy.
Uh, what do straight people look like?
Okay, so, first, Lukus,
let's take a look at your outfit.
I'm gonna need you to stand up and twirl around.
Not twirl. Spin. Spin around.
Okay. Okay, so...
Got... I've got this.
YOUNG-WHITE: Okay.
Is this your straightest outfit right now?
Your look should kind of say, "I'm looking for a girlfriend
to shop for me because I can't shop for myself."
That should... Oh, also,
do you have any clothes that your mom bought you?
-No. No, I don't. -YOUNG-WHITE: No?
-No. -Plaid? Do you have any plaid?
Any plaid? More plaid?
-No plaid? -Y-Yeah, but it's really cute.
-It, like, it-it fits, like, exactly. -YOUNG-WHITE: Oh.
-No, no. -ESTOK: Yeah.
How about any bootcut jeans?
Uh, no. I mean, straight cut.
Do you have any shoes
that look like they're too casual for formal events
and then too formal for casual events?
And they're scuffed up,
and they look like they're the only shoes
that you've owned for the past decade?
Yeah, never mind, Lukus. Never mind.
You can just... You can have a seat. You can have a seat.
Let me hear you say... Just say "bro."
Like, if I say, "Take my blood, brah."
-Brah. -And there it is.
Wow. I'm there.
SoCal, skater, you know, '90s.
I'm there, and I'm sold. I believe it.
Yeah, the thing is we shouldn't have to pass as straight.
-Right? -What do you mean, Jack?
So, being gay or bisexual
isn't a real risk factor for HIV.
Say you have a straight man who's had sex with 100 women
in the past month and never used a condom.
That person can still donate blood.
But if there is a gay man who's been having sex with his husband
and wearing condoms consistently,
that person can't.
Yeah, I think at the end of the day,
we need science and not stigma
to make decisions about donor eligibility.
The FDA is sending this message again
that if you're gay, the only way that you can be
a good, clean, charitable person,
the kind of person who donates blood,
is if you don't have sex.
YOUNG-WHITE: So, until the FDA comes around,
we'll just have to keep our fine, fabulous blood
all to ourselves.
♪ ♪