I'm a little uneducated on the topic, but I assume this is a good thing!

No, they shouldn't.

The amount of gay men infected with HIV is too high, unfortunately.

Are they not able to screen the blood for the virus?

Does blood not last more than a few days, or does it have a longer shelf life but demand outpaces the supply?

I'm inclined to agree and think them making it a year since sex is a good stance to have.

Why not?

yes, if they get tested for HIV before donating. Just like any other donors of any sexuality should be

Every time a thread like this appears, it reminds me of that episode of Degrassi when Marcos wanted to donate blood and they were like no thanks.

Immediately the first thing I think about as well. That episode bothered me so much. I remember being pissed.

The virus will not show up in blood tests for months after exposure. Still heterosexual people have no way of knowing if their partners have had contact with HIV through other mediums (needles, exposure to body fluids).

It's messy all around.

I lie and donate blood anyway. I haven't had sex in 2 years and I get tested for HIV every 2 months sooooo I think my blood is ok

Misleading. Change "Gay" to MSM

Gay men can. That's not the law. The law is men who have sex with men. It's basically the same thing but men who have sex with men don't always identify as "gay"

There's actually a lot of rules about donating blood and some places are stricter than others.

It's an old law made in fear during the AIDS crisis of the 70's/80's

Nah man. Better to not risk.

Poor word choice. While msm have a high infection rate, this law singles out msm specifically. While these blood places all ask the questions posted in the OP, they don't ask if you've had sex with a man who has sex with men if you're a female.

Basically it's a backwards law and perpetuates the gay stereotype and fear

it's like taking ID at a bar to make sure someone is 21 - just fcking test them for HIV, it's that simple

there's an easy as hell solution to this but people would rather just take the bureaucratic route

Gay men can donate blood, but MWHSWM can't, so misleading.
And no, the later should not be able to, it makes sense.

Are you saying that any and all men who have sex with other men should be barred from donating blood and plasma?

Let's take two guys. Adam and Ryan. They've only ever had sex with each other and both were perfectly qualified to donate before having sex. But after they had sex, even if it's just once, they're ineligible for life, assuming Adam and Ryan had sex with each other after 1979 (I think that's the year they specify)

It's backwards. A healthy, HIV- person shouldn't be barred from donating much needed blood and plasma, assuming they haven't been with somebody with HIV or the other risk factors. Using a blanket to cover ALL msm is the best way to handle it

Yep.