Writer Red Cross won't take blood from men who have had sex with other men since 1977

While the Red Cross calls for students to donate blood over the next 10 days in a competition with ASU, sexually active gay men at UA will not be allowed to donate.

In the midst of Coming Out Week at the UA, students will be asked a series of questions before donating blood at the annual UA vs. ASU blood drive.

Included in the questionnaire:

"Are you a male that has had sex with another man even once since 1977?"

If potential donors answer yes, their blood will not be accepted and they will be permanently banned from future Red Cross blood donation.

Jonna Lopez, director of student group Pride Alliance, thinks this rule needs to be changed.

"I think it's discriminatory. Basically, it's based upon inaccurate medical statistics and fear," Lopez said.

Lopez estimated that there are 2,000 gay students, staff and faculty members at UA.

Among other currently banned donors are those who have solicited sex, taken money for sex or used illegal intravenous drugs.

"We have no choice but to follow FDA guidelines, so we don't have an opinion," said Lynn Cunningham, marketing and communications coordinator for the American Red Cross.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration ÷ which makes the rules Red Cross must follow in collecting blood ÷ bases decisions on who is eligible to donate based on testimonies from outside advisers, according to the FDA Web site.

These advisers study ways to prevent "high-risk blood" from entering the blood supply.

An FDA representative was not available for comment.

The ban on blood donations from gay men originated in 1985, when the AIDS virus was thought of as a largely gay epidemic.

The rule needs to be concentrated on dangerous sexual behavior that isn't just limited to gay men, Lopez said.

"Unprotected anal intercourse is the high risk behavior · (the current rule) is a way to demonize a certain part of the population," she said.

In September 2000, the FDA reviewed easing the rule to ban only men who have had sex with other men in the last five years, but FDA advisers, who are scientists, voted 7-6 to continue the policy because of a lack of evidence that proved it was safe to change it.

While all blood collected is rigorously tested for infectious diseases like HIV and Hepatitis, an estimated 10 pints of HIV-positive blood is given out every year.

If gay men donated blood, the FDA believes more HIV-positive blood could be distributed, since the government estimates 8 percent of gay men are HIV-positive.

Several blood banks have asked the FDA to ease the ruling because of the current blood shortage.

Only 5 percent of all people who are eligible to donate blood are donors.

One regular blood donor at the UA said he doesn't have that much of a problem with the rule because it is merely an extra precaution.

"I think it's a stupid idea. But they don't want to make potential blood transfusions deadly for others," said junior Jason Scronic, a business economics major.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.