Protest, forum clot blood drive

Author: Annabelle Fowler

Members of the American Red Cross participated in an open forum on March 3 regarding the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) policy that permanently bans gay and bisexual men from donating blood. The forum, moderated by Co-President of the Middlebury Open Queer Alliance (MOQA) Ryan Taurianen '08 and Vice President for Institutional Planning and Diversity Shirley Ramirez, addressed the history behind the lifetime deferral and led to a discussion about steps that can be taken to reverse it.

At the forum, the American Red Cross explained that the regulations on blood donors come from the FDA, a regulatory body for the American Red Cross. The lifetime ban on men that have had any sexual relation with another male, even once, since 1977 was instituted in 1983 and is still in place. In May 2007 the FDA stated they would continue to require the lifetime deferral after evaluating the issue. The penalties for disobeying FDA regulations include fines, the removal of blood drive licenses and jail time.

David Carmichael, account executive American Red Cross, commended Middlebury for the organization of the forum. The encounter was the first of its kind in the nation, as other colleges and universities have responded to discriminatory policies by canceling blood drives, holding protests or banning the American Red Cross from their campuses as San Jose State University did earlier this year.

Because donating blood can save lives, Carmichael believes that banning the American Red Cross or canceling drives is not the right approach to achieve change.

"Put bluntly, we can't see [bans] all over the country," he said. "Twenty-five to 35 percent of blood gets collected from high schools and colleges in this country and there is no way we can just sit back and allow campuses to ban the Red Cross and expect us to be able to meet the blood need of patients in the country."

Carmichael also said that events like the open forum at Middlebury will help to move the procedure towards a resolution. "We've had meetings with other schools that just have not been productive in any way. This is the first one we've been involved with that can actually be called a forum," he said. "The response we got from the community made us feel backed up. We were asked to come, that right there was a positive, working with Ryan [Taurianen] in advance of the meeting, the interest level, the fact that the College wanted us to be involved in this issue and work with them were all just positives."

During the forum, Assistant Director of Admissions Shawn Rae Passalacqua inquired about the Red Cross' position regarding the ban. "Why [are] people told up front 'I'm sorry, you can't [donate] because of the sexual activity you have?' I'm hoping that you as an entity - even if you feel that you are burdened by the FDA - have the social responsibility to speak your mind as well and say there is no reason why this [ban] should be in place, and fight just as hard as we are by being here. This is ridiculously wrong," he said.

The American Red Cross' top priority is to provide the public with the safest possible blood supply, which is why all donors must fill out a double-sided, four-page questionnaire about their medical and personal history which helps to identify if they should be deferred, either for life or otherwise. There is, however, more demand for blood than there is supply. Carmichael explained that the American population is getting older, and that blood usage is positively correlated with population age. There has also been a decline in donors, and deferrals can turn away healthy donors but are a necessary precaution to lower the risk of contaminated blood.

As for now, the demand for blood exceeds the supply for blood. In New York, blood has to be imported from Europe because it is so scarce. If people who are currently banned were allowed to donate, the gap between the supply and demand for blood would decrease.

"Because blood is important to save lives and is often banked in low numbers, it would serve the Red Cross well to lift the ban on gay and bisexual men from donating, or at least relaxing their rules to better fit the times. Without activism, this may never happen," wrote Taurianen in a letter to Dean of the College Tim Spears and Dean of Atwater Commons Scott Barnicle.

The activism, however, did not stop at the open forum. At the blood drive, MOQA set up a table with a petition to the FDA to lift the permanent deferral of men who have had sexual relations with other men. Both donors and non-donors were allowed to sign. Following a model started by UC-Berkeley, MOQA also hosted a "Sponsor Drive" that gave every donor the possibility to sign a statement saying that their donation is in the name of a gay member of the community who is not allowed to give blood.

In addition, Taurianen is working on putting together a "Sponsor Drive - Open Forum" Kit to promote awareness of the FDA ban on other campuses. The kit would include a cover letter and instructions on how to engage the Red Cross or other blood organizations in dialogue, organize forums and promote awareness. The kit would also include a copy of the petition and the sponsor forms.

The idea is to send these kits to the NESCAC and Ivy League schools first. Each college or university could take as much as they wanted from the kit to work with the Red Cross effectively or begin their own activism. Taurianen has expectations for this to turn into a nationwide movement, and would like to send the kit to colleges and universities all over the country.

Activism in every state, he believes, would send a powerful message to the FDA. "We want to try to give inspiration to every college campus to actively petition the FDA to lift their ban against queer men," Taurianen said in an interview.

MOQA members have discussed FDA discriminatory policies regarding blood donations and gay and bisexual men since last year. This year, the group found out about the blood drive in February, far enough in advance to organize the forum. By the end of the drive, MOQA had collected over 50 signed sponsor forms and over 140 signatures on the petition.