Gay men are banned from blood and bone marrow donations in the United States and Canada. Aside from inequity, this impacts directly on the survival of cancer patients seeking bone marrow or blood donations from matching gay relatives. It is time to change the policy for all men who have sex with men.
From an article in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal: Since 1983, blood agencies in Canada, the United States and other industrialized countries have disallowed blood donations from men who have sex with men because of the possibility of infection with HIV/AIDS. The exclusion barred men who had sex with men from 1977 onwards as it was determined this date preceded the start of the AIDS epidemic. Read More→
People with AIDS more likely to develop cancers
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Out With Cancer’s “Please Ask/Please Tell” campaign launches today, encouraging LGBT Cancer Survivors and all Health Care providers to be open about risk, diagnosis, morbidity and outcomes related to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered cancer survivorship.
Out With Cancer letter to ACS regarding Homophobia
By · CommentsJohn R. Seffrin, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
American Cancer Society
Dear Dr. Seffrin:
I write to you today with the hope of getting a greater understanding about why The American Cancer Society’s Pinellas County branch canceled an LGBT-focused Relay For Life that was scheduled for March 21, 2010. As described by the event’s organizer, Bobby Poth, American Cancer Society officials “ were worried about how the general public would react to an LGBT-targeted event [and] allowed personal beliefs to play a role in that fear, etc.”
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered cancer survivors, their friends, family and care givers, deserve complete and unfettered support by all of us, including the American Cancer Society. Homophobia is vile and life threatening, particularly to those who are vulnerable because of ongoing health care treatment. Out With Cancer – The LGBT Cancer Project is our country’s first and leading LGBT cancer survivor support and advocacy national nonprofit organization. We know that prejudice hurts LGBT cancer survivors, diminishing access to appropriate health care, elevating psycho-social stressors and reducing research into LGBT health care disparities. To see our country’s largest cancer survivor nonprofit, the American Cancer Society give in to homophobia, is harmful to all of us.
I look forward to your reply on this issue. Thank you for your consideration.
Darryl Mitteldorf, LCSW
Executive Director
Out With Cancer – The LGBT Cancer Project
The American Cancer Society’s Pinellas County branch canceled the first-ever LGBT-focused Relay For Life that was slated for March 21. See Out With Cancer’s letter to the American Cancer Society at http://lgbtcancer.com/out-with-cancer-letter-to-acs-regarding-homophobia/ Read More→
Presidential Memorandum – Hospital Visitation
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Rights of Hospital Patients to Receive Visitors and to Designate Surrogate Decision Makers for Medical Emergencies Read More→
Senator’s Letter to Health & Human Services to: The Honorable Kathleen Sebelius Read More→
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), along with Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Kirstin Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) today asked Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to investigate reports that gay and lesbians are being excluded from medical clinical trials. Read More→
President Obama Issues Memo on LGBT Health Issues
By · CommentsPresident tells Lambda Legal client that what happened to her was ‘outrageous’ and thanks her for her courage. Read More→
