It Is Still Unsafe for Homosexuals to Donate Blood Says President of Christian Medical and Dental Association

Some lawmakers sent a letter Thursday to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Margaret Hamburg calling for a change in policy that bans homosexual men from donating blood. A total of 18 senators signed the letter.

The FDA currently bans men who have ever had sex with another man in the past 33 years from donating blood. The change would mean a one-year restriction on donating blood, the same as for those who engage in risky heterosexual behavior.

Family advocates warn that a change in policy could be dangerous.

Dr. David Stevens, president of the Christian Medical and Dental Association, said it's safer for homosexual men to give blood than it was 15 years ago, because of better testing, "but it's still not safe enough to change the policy that's in effect."

"(Homosexual males) are the only at-risk group where the number of cases of HIV cases is increasing," he explained. "Though homosexual men only represent 2 to 4 percent of the population, the rate compared to heterosexual men is 44 times higher for getting this disease."