Every unit of blood donated in the United States must undergo 13 tests, including 10
for infectious diseases such as HIV. The other three are just taste tests for some reason.
The FDA has a history of not keeping up with science. Since the early 2000s, we've had
the ability to test HIV in blood within two weeks after exposure. To be fair, the FDA
hasn't been keeping up with the science because they've been too busy Keeping Up with the
Kardashians. FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn lives for messy drama. So if these restrictions
are so unnecessary, why do they exist in the first place? Well, I'm going to tell you the
same thing I tell myself every time mama gets her hands on an eight ball: let's go back
to the ‘80s. Back then, HIV was little understood, difficult to detect, and disproportionately
killed gay and bisexual men. In 1983, the FDA issued new rules prohibiting gay men from
giving blood. It was a decision Ronald Reagan described as… nothing, because he wouldn't
even talk about AIDS for another two years. The FDA's blood donation ban did not meaningfully
change for decades. Any restrictions serve to stigmatize gay sex and are psychologically
damaging to LGBTQ people. After the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016, the restriction
prevented gay men from helping their own community. - A countless number of people are lining
up to give blood in the wake of the attack in Orlando. But a number of gay and bisexual
men who want to give can't. - The practice is discriminatory.
- I got turned away for being gay. I just feel hopeless, scared, sad, angry.
It's heartbreaking that people who want to donate blood can't. There is almost always
a need for blood. There has never been a time when America had such a surplus of blood that
blood banks were like "No, we're full. Actually, take ours. You look like, what, O-? B-?" But
the need is even greater now because of coronavirus. Blood banks all over the country are facing
low supply, and to help treat COVID-19 itself, doctors are experimenting with convalescent
plasma therapy. A large study found that giving COVID-19 patients transfusions of plasma from
people who have recovered from the virus may be beneficial. It's hopeful—the same way
I'm hopeful about my second vampire novel: Dracula Was My Gym Teacher But Then He Got
Fired for Being Weird with Students. The FDA's restrictions are blatantly discriminatory,
but there's a better, smarter way to screen blood donors. The biggest risk factor for
HIV is unsafe sex. That's why GLAAD and more than 500 medical professionals have petitioned
to enact "policies and protocols which focus on screening for specific high-risk behaviors,
regardless of sexual orientation." These would include things like unsafe drug injection,
having unprotected sex with a partner who has HIV, or having unprotected sex with multiple
partners. I mean, thank god there's no mention of it being unsafe to role play as the Best
Picture winner The Shape of Water. That movie single-handedly saved my sex life. I played
the fish. Many countries already use this system for screening. In Spain and Italy,
blood centers ask donors if they've engaged in specific risky sexual behavior. It's a
very simple, straightforward questionnaire that rules you out if you've participated
in any of the following sex moves: the Midnight Caller, the Major Dad, the Leave It to Beaver,
the Eight is Enough, the Small Wonder, or the Sanford & Son. Yes, those are all TV shows,
but they're even filthier sex positions. There's no reason the United States shouldn't also
adopt non-discriminatory guidelines. It's a no-brainer. We need blood. Eliminating this
restriction would add 300,000 pints of blood to the supply each year, which could save
a million lives. It would also save what's been a pretty s— summer so far if they decide
to deliver that blood via waterslide. Thankfully, we do have some leaders who are desperately
trying to drag us into this millennium. Twenty attorneys general sent a letter to the Department
of Health and Human Services asking them to ease the homophobic rules, and Tammy Baldwin
and Adam Schiff are lobbying the FDA to ground their guidelines in science, not homophobia.
Unfortunately, as long as the Senate is controlled by Republicans, there's no way a bill can
pass. That's why we have to flip the Senate this November. To get this bill passed, and
because I really want to watch Mitch McConnell cry. Did you know his tears come from his
neck? They do. Think about that for the next two minutes.