Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Disclaimers will appear at the University’s annual blood drive to quell suspicions of discrimination.
The KU Blood Drive Committee has received negative inquiries about the donating process on campus, specifically about the exclusion of gay and bisexual men.
The donator screening process excludes sexually active homosexual or bisexual men because of their increased risk for contracting HIV from other men. Jonathan Pryor, Columbus senior and president of Queers and Allies, said this exclusion was based on faulty evidence.
“This is outdated information,” Pryor said. “If the FDA is really following guidelines, they shouldn’t allow African-American women to donate either. They are currently the highest risk factor for HIV.”
pullquote
If the FDA is really following guidelines, they shouldn’t allow African-American women to donate either. They are currently the highest risk factor for HIV.
-Jonathan Pryor
An open forum was held by the KU Blood Drive Committee on Tuesday evening to explain donating regulations. Pryor and others attended the forum to talk about the necessity of asking a person’s sexual nature in order to donate blood.
Pryor said questions on sexual orientation seemed discriminatory because donators provided extensive medical history and the blood was tested for diseases. With all of this information available, Pryor said he thought a person’s sexual orientation should be left confidential.
The Blood Drive Committee reached an agreement with Queers and Allies to provide a disclaimer stating the committee was a non-discriminatory group, but was required to follow Food and Drug Administration guidelines.
The discrimination in donating blood has been an ongoing problem for Queers and Allies. Pryor said the group approached Student Senate in 2003 to discontinue funding for the blood drive, but “the donation of blood was more important that discrimination of gay and bisexual people,” he said.
This year marks the first positive discussion Queers and Allies conducted with the KU Blood Drive Committee.
“I can understand their concerns,” said Jeff Klinkhardt, St. Louis senior and president of the KU Blood Drive Committee. “But if we don’t ask the questions, if we don’t follow FDA guidelines, the blood we collect doesn’t get used.”
Klinkhardt said the blood drive committee didn’t discriminate and would work to make that clear to students.
The disclaimer will appear on tables during the blood drive next week. Klinkhardt said a possibility for next year’s committee was a signed petition against asking questions about sexual orientation.
The representatives from the Blood Drive Committee and Queers and Allies agreed the disclaimer was a good step in refuting questions of discrimination between student organizations on campus.
“Now that they’ve brought it to our attention, it’s absolutely no problem,” said Lisa Kennedy, Kansas City, Mo., senior and vice president of the KU Blood Drive Committee. “We didn’t look at it as our group against their group, so we want to try to smooth things over as well as possible.”
Kansan staff writer Katy Blair can be contacted at kblair@kansan.com.
— Edited by Ashley Thompson
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