Another possible solution, not even-handed, but more honest: Just don’t ask women anything about the subject.
The idea that a person can be trusted to know about their partners’ partners is preposterous; no other question (in the U.S.) asks the donor about other people’s behaviour, and for good reason. Instead of half-assedly trying to be even-handed about it, just admit what they’re doing: ruling out men who’ve had sex with men, because many of their partners will have had sex with other men, and so on back (in many cases) a long way; but accepting women who’ve had sex with men, because most of their partners won’t have had sex with men, stopping the transmission-from-men sequence.
I’m confident that they already accept blood from most women who’ve had sex with men who’ve had sex with men (because the women don’t know this about their partners), and they are surely aware of this (if I am correct) fact. So why are they asking questions of people who don’t actually know the answers?
Gay people will still be upset that they can’t donate, but I at least would be more willing to trust that the blood collectors are actually making an honest decision.
Mostly, my faith in the quality of the blood supply derives from what testing they’re doing to the blood, not from what unenforceable policies they’re suggesting to the donors.
I’d actually be surprised if the latter significantly affected the quality of the blood.
Mostly, I think the problem they are a solution for is maintaining public confidence in the blood supply. Which I acknowledge is an important problem. And it may well be that being perceived as excluding gay men and their partners is a better solution to that problem than anything else they might do; I don’t know.
That said, if I’m wrong and these policies really do solve a problem related to the blood supply, yet another possible solution is: don’t allow people who have had unprotected sex to donate.
Or, if that’s too big a chunk of your potential donor base, make it people who have had unprotected sex outside of a monogamous relationship.
Another possible solution, not even-handed, but more honest: Just don’t ask women anything about the subject.
The idea that a person can be trusted to know about their partners’ partners is preposterous; no other question (in the U.S.) asks the donor about other people’s behaviour, and for good reason. Instead of half-assedly trying to be even-handed about it, just admit what they’re doing: ruling out men who’ve had sex with men, because many of their partners will have had sex with other men, and so on back (in many cases) a long way; but accepting women who’ve had sex with men, because most of their partners won’t have had sex with men, stopping the transmission-from-men sequence.
I’m confident that they already accept blood from most women who’ve had sex with men who’ve had sex with men (because the women don’t know this about their partners), and they are surely aware of this (if I am correct) fact. So why are they asking questions of people who don’t actually know the answers?
Gay people will still be upset that they can’t donate, but I at least would be more willing to trust that the blood collectors are actually making an honest decision.
Mostly, my faith in the quality of the blood supply derives from what testing they’re doing to the blood, not from what unenforceable policies they’re suggesting to the donors.
I’d actually be surprised if the latter significantly affected the quality of the blood.
Mostly, I think the problem they are a solution for is maintaining public confidence in the blood supply. Which I acknowledge is an important problem. And it may well be that being perceived as excluding gay men and their partners is a better solution to that problem than anything else they might do; I don’t know.
That said, if I’m wrong and these policies really do solve a problem related to the blood supply, yet another possible solution is: don’t allow people who have had unprotected sex to donate.
Or, if that’s too big a chunk of your potential donor base, make it people who have had unprotected sex outside of a monogamous relationship.