Students protest Red Cross policy
A group of students is protesting Red Cross guidelines that prevent sexually active gay men from donating blood.Laura Wieschaus '07, Meghan McCormick '07 and Karen Wolfgang '06 have organized a meeting on Thursday to discuss the Red Cross policy and take action, possibly through a letter-writing campaign.Red Cross guidelines state that "a male who has had sexual contact with another male, even once, since 1977" cannot give blood because of the risk of passing on HIV.Critics charge that the policy is discriminatory and counterproductive to the Red Cross' goals."[The policy] limits the amount of blood available to the public, and it also perpetuates a negative stereotype regarding homosexuals," said Wieschaus, a Red Cross volunteer coordinator.Fewer than 200 students donate blood during each drive, which is a small proportion of the student population, Wieschaus said.




