I’ve had it up to here with the stupidity of our government. When I heard the announcement that they were thinking about banning gay organ donors yesterday, I just about had a heart attack. Come on people, how stupid can you be? Do you honestly think that, a) receiving a life-saving organ from a homosexual male will make you homosexual, and that, b) there is a higher likelihood that the organ will have some blood-borne disease coming from a gay man? Give me a break. Like the organs aren’t screened for stuff like that anyway. I think it’s bad enough that they can’t donate blood, but now this. If you take away this right, you are taking away the lives of the people that could have been saved by organs donated by gay men. Shame on you Mr. All Powerful Government Man, and those of you who are in favor of this deplorable mess. When are you going to wake up and realize that homosexuals, regardless of sex, are just like you and I?
This article appears in Jan 10-16, 2008.
Conservative government combined with the stranglehold the curch still has in this country and this is the kind of ignorance you get. What’s the worst that could happen? I start dressing nicer? (kidding)I’m ashamed that this is even a topic of discussion.
Straights with HIV and injecting drugs? They don’t exist in Canada – Stephen Harpseal said so. I’m with you, Sis, this is really disgusting.
And we all know that strait people never have anal sex.What’s worse is that this morning on the news one of the lead stories was about how there aren’t nearly enough ogan donors in Nova Scotia to meet the need. Are more restrictions going to help?I understand that sometimes there is a timing issue when it comes to organ donations and that maybe not everyone is tested for blood-bourne diseases, but by limiting the ban to gay men who engage in high-risk sex is blantant discrimination. Moreover, it’s stupid as the fastest growing group of infected people in Canada is young women.
Question:If you needed an organ transplant would you rather receive an organ from:A) A 30 yo hetero male, drug user, single with multiple sexual partners and does not practice safe sex?B) A 30 yo gay male in a monogamous long term relationship living a clean lifestyle?Thanks to Steve that choice has been taken away from us. In a time where it seems to be a struggle to recruit organ donors now we want to make it harder to save lives????
Oh .. My .. God ..This is the stupidest thing I have ever heard.What a damn shameful government we have.As far as I’m concered, if the organ is healthy and it will work, I’ll take my organs from a purple person, a green person, a crow, a mouse …. I don’t care.
Hey, they arn’t allowed to give BLOOD. Organs are grossly a bigger deal, especially with rejection disease even IF you have a perfect match. How about this, a perfectly healthy individual who is straight cannot donate or give blood IF they happen to have been to a country that is considered THIRD WORLD. Meaning, that you have to be a blue blooded local never travelled straight person to donate.That’s just the way it is in the “developed world”…
Ellbee eats babies!
that’s a lot of passion Pissed off Sis. A curious comment from someone waiting for her gay bro to kick off so he can donate something hopefully not too well used.from a psychological point of view, might want to talk to someone about that. what’s bugging you, is not what you are righting about me thinks.
Have fun, bathmatt….
…with your $50 bucks. And, no, I don’t eat babies, I merely gnaw on their elbows.
Horrible. Horrible Horrible Horrible.Stupid honky-ass hicks. I would love to see the medical/ethical reasoning behind this bit of intelligence. Morons. I hope all of their organs fail at the same time.
I seem to recall my 20 year old heterosexual female friend telling me last night about all the unprotected sex she’s had. She’s an organ donor and a blood donor!I think the government is seriously missing the point here.The news said that banning gay men from donating organs would eliminate something like 1 in 10 organ donations. That is a serious problem – not only a clear abuse of the rights of gay men, but also an irresponsible action that will result in hundreds, if not thousands of people not receiving the healthy organs they need to live.If you’re mad, TALK. Take to the streets and raise your voice. The issue can’t just be an headline on page 5 of the newspaper one day and then gone the next. Tell everyone you know. Tell them why you’re angry and why they should be angry, too.And David, this isn’t time for Freudian analysis. The author isn’t after he brother’s organs here. She’s after his RIGHTS. The government is ignoring the larger issues here, and you are too.
first off, she is not after HER rights, she is after those of her gay bro.secondly, as usual the Coast blurb is in error anyway. Check the Globe and Mail for January 11th. The intention clearly does NOT ban donation from gay donors.Where there is smoke there is fire….or not.
Excuse me while I open myself up to a deluge of flaming hate-responses but it has to be said.The medical establishment has an obligation to play to odds and manage the risks. Like it or not, rates of HIV are significantly higher among gay men than other people. Are organ donations screened? of course, but there is an inherent randomness in HIV detection -especially in the early stages. And yes a certain amount of it is due to hospitals covering their liability, and understandable concern.Do you really think that these doctors are refusing organs that could save people’s lives just to insult and discriminate against gay donors? Should we expose people to greater risk of HIV just so that we can be politically correct?
If I was going to die tommorow because I needed a vital organ transplant, I’d probably take a dose of HIV even if it meant I could get only an extra year of life.
But Brendan, the thing is that gay men are no longer in the most high-risk categories any more. Young women happen to be the fastest growing group of infected people in Canada. Also, is could be said that gay men are probably the most educated group of people about HIV. They are usually tested regularly and more aware of the dangers involved with high risk sexual activity.I am all for making sure that organ donation is as safe as possible and I understand that part of that process should involve worrying about high-risk activities, but making that judgement call based soley on sexual orientation is discrimination.I recently read that the highest risk groups right now are young black and aboriginal women. If this new policy restricted the use of organs from the sexually active members of that category, there would be no debate.
wow how backwards can we get- I don’t think I would give two shits in hell if I had a heart from a gay person. It’s a heart and I’d be lucky enough to get it so I think I’d be a little more thankful to be alive then worrying about my heart from a gay person!
If it means I get to LIVE I’d take an organ from a guy who ass fucked a bottlenosed dolphin while going down on a baby seal – I get to LIVE is the bottom line to me.