San Jose State University President Don Kassing suspended all on-campus blood drives last week, claiming federal donation guidelines that forbid gay men from donating blood conflict with the school's non-discrimination policy regarding sexual orientation.
Kassing announced his decision to end blood drives in a Jan. 31 email to students.
Since 1977, the Food and Drug Administration has forbidden the Red Cross and other organizations from collecting blood from sexually active gay men. This and several other FDA donation restrictions ultimately make less than 38 percent of people in the United States eligible to donate blood, according to the American Red Cross website.
"I recognize the importance of giving blood and we know that universities are significant sources of blood . . . however lacking further action by the FDA, we are guided by the clear mandates of our non-discrimination policy," Kassing said in the email.
He said the suspension will continue until the FDA reevaluates its policy.
The conflict between the FDA's policy and the university's discrimination policy was brought to the administration's attention by an employee last April, said San Jose State spokeswoman Pat Harris.
The administration's decision, though commended by some gay-rights groups, has blood banks worried other universities and institutions will follow in San Jose State's footsteps and cancel blood drives, causing a shortage of blood.
The Stanford Blood Center, a donation location in the San Jose area, has agreed to work with San Jose State to lobby the FDA to change its national donation restriction standards for men who have had sex with men.
Louis Katz, executive vice president of the Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center, a member of the American Association of Blood Banks, said all blood centers are forced to adhere to the FDA's regulations in order to use donated blood.
San Jose State is misinterpreting the AABB's adherence to the FDA as discrimination, he said.
"Cancelling blood drives is not a good thing," Katz said. "When you cancel blood drives the blood supply decreases including for gays who go to HIV clinics for transfusions."
In April 2003, a blood drive at the University of Vermont was cancelled because of perceived discrimination against gays. Last fall, the university's student government voted against banning a Red Cross blood drive.
Katz said San Jose State should continue talking to the FDA, and said cancelling blood drives does not address the reason for the0 rejection of gay men's blood. He said the university only punishes those who follow the FDA's rules.
"There are patients at the other end of this issue and they need blood," he said.
Some gay activist groups see the FDA's restrictions as targeting the gay community for a universal disease.
"It is unfortunate that such a restriction had to be put in place, but we commend San Jose State University," said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force spokeswoman Roberta Sklar. "With proper testing anyone can be shown to be safe to give blood.
"The FDA restrictions are completely discriminatory and have no basis on science," she said. "It perpetuates homophobia for an illness that is treated the same in gays as anyone else."
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