By Sarah Ruth Bates, MBE
The MMS has joined the fight against discriminatory blood donation practices and “conversion therapy” — two policies based in prejudice against sexual and gender minorities rather than scientific evidence.
Lowering a Barrier to Blood Donation
The MMS testified in support of a state bill opposing the current FDA regulation that men who have sex with men be deferred from donating blood for 12 months following sexual contact. The bill would prohibit blood donation facilities from discriminating against potential donors on the basis of sex, gender, or sexual orientation, while allowing facilities to require that donors provide proof of a negative HIV test.
“The current FDA regulation doesn’t make sense from a risk perspective,” says Julian Cyr, a Massachusetts state senator and cosponsor of the bill. “We’re actually seeing a decrease in HIV rates for men who have sex with men, especially in Massachusetts, thanks to the really broad success of pre-exposure prophylaxis.” Donated blood is tested for HIV and other pathogens, he added.
Public objection to the FDA’s policy has grown in response to the 2016 shooting at Orlando’s Pulse nightclub and the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas, as facilities have turned away blood donations from men who have sex with men. If passed, this legislation could increase the supply of donor blood in Massachusetts. “Right now, we have a shortage,” says Senator Cyr, who is a former chair of the Massachusetts Commission on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning (LGBTQ) Youth. “Men who have sex with men, myself included, are prohibited from donating blood. It’s discriminatory — and it’s just absurd.”
Banning “Conversion Therapy”
The MMS testified in strong support of another anti-discriminatory bill that would ban licensed practitioners from engaging in so-called “conversion therapy,” or efforts to change a patient’s gender or sexuality in a therapeutic session, in Massachusetts.
Senator Cyr cosponsored this bill, too. “[Conversion therapy] is an abusive and fraudulent practice that’s premised on an outdated idea that it’s possible to change a young person’s sexual or gender identity,” he says. Conversion therapy harms a population already at higher risk for suicidal ideation, violence, unplanned pregnancy, and victimization compared to their non-LGBTQ peers, says the senator. “Massachusetts likes to proclaim itself a leader on LGBTQ issues, yet we’re not leading here. We trail eight other states and the District of Columbia, which have already outlawed conversion therapy.”
Physicians voices make a critical difference. At a June hearing, State Representative David Linsky said, “I take a hands-off approach to getting involved about medical procedures. But when I see that all respected medical organizations have endorsed this bill, how could I not support it?”
