Another loss

I was having a discussion with my wife tonight about giving blood and all the eligibility requirements that the Red Cross has added to keep the blood supply disease-free when we realized, that I can’t give blood. I hadn’t ever realized that before. I’ve not been a regular donater of blood by any stretch, because I have extremely difficult to locate veins and drawing blood is quite the adventure when it’s necessary, it never really seemed worth the effort when it wasn’t necessary.

You see the Red Cross eligibility guidelines are very strict when it comes to HIV risk.

You should not give blood if you have AIDS or have ever had a positive HIV test, or if you have done something that puts you at risk for becoming infected with HIV.

– are a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977

I was molested by aother male as a child and into my teens. Well after 1977.

I’m not going to get into a debate over whether they’re correct or not. I’m not in the medical field, I trust them to know better and to err on the side of caution, so I understand why they have these guidelines. I’m just left feeling more of a loss. After all these years of work, and all the progress I’ve made dealing with the issues surrounding my abuse, I found something else that was stolen from me.

I don’t know that I can put this into words so that you’ll understand why this makes me sad. I just somehow feel victimized, again. Even though I had no plans to donate blood, having the choice to do it taken away hurts.