Sinai was collecting plasma from recovered COVID-19 patients for research on new treatments, he signed up right away. I felt less than,” Lukus Estok, 36, told Vice News. Other men have felt similarly devastated when they were only trying to help.
“My blood could save a life, but instead it’s over here boiling.” “Maybe because we’re valuing stigma over science, I don’t know,” Cohen continued. I was told that due to antiquated and discriminatory guidelines by the FDA to prevent HIV, I am ineligible to donate blood because I’m a gay man,” he said. “I signed up for a program for COVID-19 survivors where you could donate plasma, which is rich in antibodies, to those still battling the virus. “After recovering from coronavirus, I wanted to see if there was something that I could do to help people who were infected,” the 51-year-old told “Watch What Happens Live” viewers. On Thursday night, Bravo network host Andy Cohen, who tested positive for COVID-19 in March, confessed that a New York City blood bank had refused his donation. In 2015, health officials began to allow some gay men to donate based on their recent sexual histories now, due to a “severe” blood supply shortage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the barrier to donate is even more forgiving.īut that doesn’t seem to be happening in some blood banks across NYC. During the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, lawmakers placed a ban on such donations, alleging that their sexuality made them more likely carriers of the disease.
It’s hard to image why anyone would be turned away for wanting to help during the coronavirus pandemic.īut some COVID-19 survivors have revealed that they are being rejected for blood and plasma donations on the basis of their sexuality.Įarlier this month, the Food and Drug Administration said it would be easing restrictions on blood donations by gay and bisexual men. NYC offices reach milestone since pandemic shutdown with 40% occupancyīreathe easy while you breathe hard with these masks made for working out North Korea sends aid to 800 families suffering from intestinal epidemic
NY drowning in 700,000 gallons of hand sanitizer it can't get rid of