And now the FDA wants to use the same asinine rules for sperm donation as for blood donation

[conuly]

Instead of testing donors to make sure they're not sick, they'd rather just exclude a huge swath of the population from donating.

Brilliant plan, guys. Really.

Comments

[thornleaf.livejournal.com]

Y'know... my brain automatically assumed the 'risky behaviour' in question was something like drug use or alcohol abuse, and I thought "well, now, hang on, that kinda makes sense, because an addictive personality can be genetically based, and, well, I can understand not wanting the sperm of a potential addict...

well.

Other things might be genetic as well, and I think that, much more than an attempt to keep infectious sperm out of the, er, sperm pool... this is a thinly-veiled way to assure people that their precious offspring have less chance of being gay.

Makes me sick.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

But then they would have to admit homosexuality is genetic, and that to discriminate against people just because they were born that way is wrong.

Remember, the Christians especially push that homosexuality is a choice.

They shouldn't be allowed to have it both ways.

[thornleaf.livejournal.com]

Which is why it will remain 'thinly veiled' (to those of us who see it that way, anyway). That way they can continue to argue that it's purely to help keep infectious diseases (specifically, HIV) out of the sperm supply.

Which is, of course, ridiculous - I mean, they're already testing everyone... and you can get HIV from heterosexual sex, too... perhaps they should just restrict donations to the celibate.

As a side note, for a reason I can't pin down, the phrase "sperm supply" makes me giggle much more than it has any right to.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

How hard would it be to test each sample, or each donor? Seriously?

I'd feel better with the label NOT HIV POSITIVE than NOT GAY on my little test tube or package or whatever of lil swimmers, if I was in need of donor sperm.

And to something else on this thread, the couple amongst my peers that has been together the longest (17 years) happens to be two men. My male/female pairings haven't been that long, except me and my husband (15 years but we were seperated for a couple of years in the middle) and my friend and her husband (14 years, maybe 15). Other than that, everyone has been around the block quite a bit the past couple of decades (of people I know in RL).

[leora.livejournal.com]

I would assume and be shocked if it is otherwise, that they do test the samples or the person before accepting them. I'd think that'd be a given.

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

I mean, I'm pretty sure that sperm donor screening is more thorough than blood donor because you'd want to make sure none of the genetic conditions pass through screening. And potential parents seem willing to pay a nice fee for eggs, so why not have good screening and pass the costs on to the potential parents?

The only person I know who had anything to do with anything like this was someone who banked his own sperm before chemo. So I would imagine his sessions were different. (He used to wave when he passed the sperm bank.)

[leora.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, I've read a little on that. They do want people in very good health and without genetic issues for donation. I'll never be accepted as an egg donor, except maybe by someone who knew me and knew enough about my issues to be able to handle the potential risks and decrease the risks for the children (genetic predisposition plus environmental trigger... decrease the odds of an environmental trigger and the genetic predisposition is much less of an issue... alas, my generation is the one to learn of the genetic predisposition).

[kibbles.livejournal.com]

And why did I say 'the Christians' when my own Christian sect marries same sex couples?

I am starting to believe the hype that the Religious Right speaks for all Christians. A very dangerous mistake to make. :/

[(Anonymous)]

Hey,
Believe me, I'm not predjudiced at all. I am extremely angered over gays being banned from sperm donation. I am a straight female...
But, they may have found a genetic link to homosexuality. They are now testing the effects of pheromones and have found the same results in straight women and gay men to male hormones in the part of the brain that is affected by pheromones. Hmm... could this be the genetic link that has long been denied???