Need Blood? Consider the Source....

[makesenseplease]

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100304/ap_on_go_co/us_gays_blood_donations

 

[johnhp]

What is the problem?

[ivanm]

What is the problem?

Duh?

[lucy]

In his memory....

Arthur Ashe

My favorite tennis player when I was little....

<also on the short list of HEROES FOR BLACK HISTORY>

[IM2]

lucy,

<also on the short list of HEROES FOR BLACK HISTORY>

Your list may be short, and that is another display of your problem.

For example do you know who Murt Hanks is?

He was mayor of the town I grew up in. In fact the family lived accross the street from us. He won his seat in 1975. Wasn't many black mayors at that time in America. A black man who won a political seat and became mayor. Thats what heroes are made of. He won't get any national acclaim, he won't make it in your short list of 2 blacks who you think are heroes, but he is an example of milions of blacks who have been ignored by history, and by whites like you.

Arthur Ashe did nothing like this. He was a tennis player. He was not dependent upon votes for his popularity, all he needed to do was win. Sports have long been the equalizer, but sports are not the only thing that blacks have excelled in and its about high time white folks like you understood this.

[lucy]

http://www.arthurasheinstitute.org/bchp.html

[lucy]

"short list" a figure of speech.

Do you even know WHY I mentioned Ashe?

[lucy]

"By the mid-1970’s, people began to whisper that perhaps Arthur was spending too much time on his causes and not enough time on his game. It was from this realization that Arthur began to refocus on his game, determined to reach the level of play he once enjoyed. In 1975, at the age of 31, Arthur Ashe enjoyed one of his finest seasons ever and one of the shining moments of his career by winning Wimbledon. He also attained the ultimate ranking of #1 in the world.

Following his retirement in 1980, and unexpected heart surgeries in 1979 and 1983, Arthur began reaping awards and branching off into other professional areas, including journalism, the media and philanthropic endeavors. Included among those were positions as a commentator for HBO Sports and ABC Sports, as a columnist for The Washington Post and Tennis magazine, the publishing of Arthur’s 3-volume body of work, “A Hard Road To Glory,” a stint as captain of the US Davis Cup team, a well-deserved election to the Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985, and the founding of numerous charitable organizations, including the National Junior Tennis League, the ABC Cities Tennis Program, the Athlete-Career Connection, and the Safe Passage Foundation.

Arthur looked to be making a smooth transition into the second-half of his life, even becoming a father in 1986, when his daughter Camera Elizabeth arrived. During a doctor’s exam in 1988, however, the Ashe’s lives were irrevocably changed.

While in the hospital for brain surgery, Arthur received the overwhelming news that he was HIV-Positive. He had contracted the virus through a tainted transfusion during his two heart surgeries, almost certainly the second in 1983. Wishing to maintain his and his family’s privacy, and well-aware of the prejudice and paranoia that was often associated with the disease during its first years of existence, the Ashe’s, with help from close friends and trusted medical advisors, were able to keep the startling information from the public’s awareness. At issue were Arthur and Jeanne’s desire to raise their daughter Camera in as normal an environment as possible, a desire that would have been made impossible with a public disclosure.

Because of pressure from a national newspaper that was indicating they had on good record that he had AIDS, Arthur, rather than let the rumors persist, elected to make his condition known to the world through a scheduled a press conference on the morning of April 8, 1992. The knowledge that his life and the lives of his family members would forever be altered was foremost on Arthur’s mind. After his admission to the world, an outpouring of compassion and support arrived, inspiring Arthur to begin AAFDA. This outpouring can only perhaps be compared to the day Lou Gehrig announced his retirement and contraction of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Arthur Ashe passed away on February 6, 1993, having raised awareness of AIDS to a level where paranoia was no longer the overriding emotion.

For Arthur Ashe, tennis was a means to an end. What began on the public recreation courts in Richmond, Virginia, ultimately became a lucrative, illustrious 10-year career. In between were many honors and awards, including three Grand Slam singles titles and over 800 career victories. But for Arthur, it was always more than personal glory and individual accolades. Rather, it was the knowledge that his status as an elite tennis player afforded him a unique and worldwide platform to speak out about inequities, both in the tennis world and society as a whole. That in and of itself was unique, but not outstanding. Arthur stood out when he chose to utilize his status to bring about change. That is what makes his legacy so unique and important."

link  http://www.cmgww.com/sports/ashe/about/bio2.htm

[johnhp]

Duh?

You may be unaware of this but all information on blood donation is self-reporting.  i do not donate blood because i was in the UK during the beginning of the mad cow scare.  But if i did not self-report that they would not know.

By the way, donated blood is already tested for HIV.

[lucy]

One would think it would have been tested all along, but it wasn't always the case. It wasn't the case for Arthur Ashe.

I cannot give blood because I had malaria as a child. The last time I tried was a while back when we were trying to have some blood back-up for the baby we lost.

Maybe that has changed.

[johnhp]

One would think it would have been tested all along, but it wasn't always the case. It wasn't the case for Arthur Ashe.

Ashe had his second surgery in 1983.  This is presumably the surgery at which he contracted the disease.  What was called AIDs was identified in 1981/2.  Creating testing protocols took longer to develop.

[lucy]

You have somewhat of a point. However, even soon after HIV/AIDS was indentified, there were a few gay activists questioning why gay men were being allowed to give blood. ref AS THE BAND PLAYED ON (Shilts).

[lucy]

It might be that now, because of thorough testing, it is okay. I would want to make sure, though, before I received any blood that it was guaranteed to have been tested. I think that is only fair and prudent.

[johnhp]

You have somewhat of a point. However, even soon after HIV/AIDS was indentified, there were a few gay activists questioning why gay men were being allowed to give blood. ref AS THE BAND PLAYED ON (Shilts).

The problem with your suggestion is that at the beginning of the disease about half the population with it were not gay.

[johnhp]

It might be that now, because of thorough testing, it is okay. I would want to make sure, though, before I received any blood that it was guaranteed to have been tested. I think that is only fair and prudent.

i do not see anything wrong with that.  Can you imagine how much your healthcare bills with increase for that?  Not to mention your premiums.