Insurance executive says banning gay men from giving blood is unfair

Mike Enos used to roll up his sleeve and donate blood with his co-workers. But that stopped years ago after he was ushered behind a privacy curtain at an office blood drive and told his blood wouldn’t be accepted ever.

That’s because Enos, a Kansas City insurance executive, is gay.

For decades, the federal government has imposed a lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men. The reason is that the AIDS virus, HIV, can be spread through blood transfusions, and gay men are more likely to carry HIV than the general population.

But increasingly refined tests are removing many of the doubts about whether a blood donor carries HIV, KansasCity.com reports.

So a movement is under way to end the lifetime ban.

Photo : JHeuser