Are blood donation questions reasonable?

[The Eschaton]

After reading the following AP article i dont think they are. I dont think the lifetime ban on any risky behavior is reasonable. What are they trying to guard against? The tests are much more reliable than the questions, so why the questions? i actually know people who use the blood donation as a way to re-assure they are HIV free but thats stupid. You can get free tests at a clinic. Only responsible people are going to answer the questions properly anyway so all your doing is screening out responsible people. I think they should have a strongly worded notice that their tests are unreliable for during an initial incubation period for HIV and if you have done any of the following risky activities you need to get tested and wait 1 year.


gay men banned from donating blood

In March 2006, the Red Cross, the international blood association AABB and America's Blood Centers proposed replacing the lifetime ban with a one-year deferral following male-to-male sexual contact. New and improved tests, which can detect HIV-positive donors within just 10 to 21 days of infection, make the lifetime ban unnecessary, the blood groups told the FDA.

In a document posted Wednesday, the FDA said it would change its policy if given data that show doing so wouldn't pose a "significant and preventable" risk to blood recipients.

"It is a way of saying, 'Whatever was presented to us was not sufficient to make us change our minds,'" Bianco said.

The FDA said HIV tests currently in use are highly accurate, but still cannot detect the virus 100 percent of the time. The estimated HIV risk from a unit of blood is currently about one per 2 million in the United States, according to the agency.

Critics of the exclusionary policy said it bars potential healthy donors, despite the increasing need for donated blood, and discriminates against gays. The FDA recognized the policy defers many healthy donors but rejected the suggestion it's discriminatory.

Anyone who's used intravenous drugs or been paid for sex also is permanently barred from donating blood.