A Ban on Gay Sperm Is Needed?
Continued...
Statistics show that gay men have a higher risk of carrying HIV. The Federal Food and Drug Administration believes precautions should be taken to prevent the spread of the disease to anonymous donors. In an Associated Press report, the FDA "felt the broader exclusion was prudent even if it affected gay men who practice safe sex."
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) supports the FDA decision, stating "All of the tissue rules are issued under FDA’s authority to make and enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases." Read the full guidelines in the FDA's Eligibility Determination for Donors of Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products.
The ASRM recommends that donor samples be tested for HIV, Hepatitis B/C, human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, chlamydia and gonorrhea.
However if donor clinics like Rainbow Flag Health Services take the necessary precautions against the spread of disease, why ban gay donors?
Statistics show that gay men have a higher risk of carrying HIV. The Federal Food and Drug Administration believes precautions should be taken to prevent the spread of the disease to anonymous donors. In an Associated Press report, the FDA "felt the broader exclusion was prudent even if it affected gay men who practice safe sex."
The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) supports the FDA decision, stating "All of the tissue rules are issued under FDA’s authority to make and enforce regulations necessary to prevent the introduction, transmission, or spread of communicable diseases." Read the full guidelines in the FDA's Eligibility Determination for Donors of Human Cells, Tissues, and Cellular and Tissue-Based Products.
The ASRM recommends that donor samples be tested for HIV, Hepatitis B/C, human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, chlamydia and gonorrhea.
However if donor clinics like Rainbow Flag Health Services take the necessary precautions against the spread of disease, why ban gay donors?
A Ban on Gay Sperm is Bigotry?
Rainbow Flag Health Services, a sperm bank in Alameda, Ca, meets the
ASRM guidelines for sample testing, however the FDA still does not recommend gay men be donors. Rainbow Flag Health Services quarantines their donated semen for a minimum of 6 months. The samples are then retested for HIV 1& 2, HTLV 1 & 2, Hepatitis B & C and Syphilis before his semen is released for insemination.
Lambda Legal, one of the largest watchdogs of gay rights, released the following statement concerning the FDA ban:
"The federal government issued recommendations today that look like they were written in 1982, not 2004. There is absolutely nothing about this proposal that's based on science or medicine -- this is a policy based on bigotry. The government's recommendations are discriminatory and defy common sense. It's completely illogical to say that a gay monogamous man who practiced safe sex four years ago cannot be a sperm donor, but a heterosexual man who had high-risk unprotected sex 14 months ago can donate his sperm. There are already procedures in place to ensure that donated sperm is safe, no matter who donated it. HIV affects every part of our nation's population, and the F.D.A. needs to realize that fact and stop treating gay men as the only people who contract HIV."
Lambda Legal, one of the largest watchdogs of gay rights, released the following statement concerning the FDA ban:
"The federal government issued recommendations today that look like they were written in 1982, not 2004. There is absolutely nothing about this proposal that's based on science or medicine -- this is a policy based on bigotry. The government's recommendations are discriminatory and defy common sense. It's completely illogical to say that a gay monogamous man who practiced safe sex four years ago cannot be a sperm donor, but a heterosexual man who had high-risk unprotected sex 14 months ago can donate his sperm. There are already procedures in place to ensure that donated sperm is safe, no matter who donated it. HIV affects every part of our nation's population, and the F.D.A. needs to realize that fact and stop treating gay men as the only people who contract HIV."
Where it Stands
FDA decisions do not serve as law, but medical professionals and clinics use them as guidelines for care. However, if a woman wishes to use a gay man's sperm, the FDA does not prohibit her from doing so. Under the guidelines for these "directed" donors, clinics can provide the service.
