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May 17, 2008 1:27:15 AM CDT

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Berkeley Fights Donation Policy Without Protests  

Posted Apr 8, 08 2:00 PM CDT in Arts & Living,  Science & Health    Editor's Choice

(newser) – Several San Francisco-area campuses have banned blood drives to protest federal policies preventing sexually active gay men from donating blood, but at UC-Berkeley, students are making a point without resorting to boycotts. Instead of withholding blood on grounds the 25-year-old FDA rule is discriminatory, Cal is encouraging gay students to recruit eligible donors to give for them, the Oakland Tribune reports.

"I felt like protesting and taking blood out of the supply would be a bit silly," one gay student said. Many are calling for the Food and Drug Administration to review its policies. A spokeswoman said the agency is "open to changes ... if we are presented with compelling data" that new rules would result in untainted blood.

Source Inside Bay Area (Oakland)

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Related News

  • School Breaks With Feds Over Gay Rights

    Jan 31, 08 8:59 PM CST
    School Breaks With Feds Over Gay Rights Saying a federal directive aimed at keeping gay men from donating blood violates school non-discrimination policies, the president of a California university is stopping blood drives on campus, the San Jose Mercury News reports. In a campus-wide email, San Jose State University president Don Kassing says a ban on such collections by student and staff groups will remain in effect indefinitely. More »

Berkeley Fights Donation Policy Without Protests
The FDA's ban on blood from actively gay men stemmed from the AIDS scares of the 1980s, and the organization has still not completed updating the research that could reverse the policy.   (Getty Images)
Berkeley Fights Donation Policy Without Protests
Berkeley isn't shy about protesting government policies, but in this case students felt an all-out boycott wasn't the answer.   (Associated Press)
Berkeley Fights Donation Policy Without Protests
Several Bay-Area schools have protested the FDA's policy against accepting blood from gay men, but Berkeley students felt the need for blood called for a different sort of activism.   (Associated Press)
Berkeley Fights Donation Policy Without Protests
College students are an important demographic for blood drives to tap, which makes the protests at San Jose State and other schools all the more problematic for the FDA.   (Getty Images)
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FDA  • gay  • UC Berkeley  • blood drives  • San Jose State University  • donated blood


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