have you ever donated blood despite being considered ineligible?

Oh I'm sure you're fine. But would you be happy with the idea of other people concealing past exposure risks on that questionnaire?

The Red Cross themselves say their highest priority is the safety of the blood supply (more so than the supply itself). In the judgement of their public health officials, their screening questions are still relevant to ensure that safety. I understand you think you're doing them a favor (and again, I'm sure you're fine), and I see you have your own theory about the value of the screening questions, but I bet the Red Cross wouldn't see the help you're offering by lying on their questionnaire as helpful, which is why you're having to lie.

Again, I'd encourage you to see the question from the other side of the table to see where your ethical responsibilities lie. Doctors like me obtain informed consent from any patient who's agreeing to receive blood products (except in life-saving emergencies when they're used without consent unless a prior wish not to receive blood is known). Some patients have a fair amount of concern about the risk of infection from blood products. You may think that the screening questions are too restrictive (a sort of "security theater" maybe?), but the need to take excessive precautions to reassure people is a very real thing in medical care. I'd like to be able to reassure people with a clear conscience that we're doing our best to limit their risk.

Would you have a problem with receiving blood products yourself from donors who are using their own judgment about their risk of passing along an infection to override the screening questions, even by lying on the questionnaire? What do you think the repercussions should be of for donor who knowingly conceals an exposure risk and thereby endangers a blood transfusion recipient who consented to receive blood based on the idea that the risk of infection was being minimized as much as possible? What do you think the recourse should be for someone who ends up with a blood-borne infection because of that?

I guess I don't see what you're getting out of donating blood even though you're being specifically asked not to. Is this some sort of protest? If your goal is to help the Red Cross, why don't you give them a call, give them your name, and have a nice chat about what you've been doing. Maybe they could even suggest some other ways you could help them out (volunteering?), instead of doing exactly what they've specifically asked you not to do.

It's definitely not a protest. If it was, I'd be very outspoken about it and not conducting a poll trying to find the pulse on the topic on an out-of-the-way message board! I dunno. I figured that hey, I know there are gay people on ilx, I know there are former i.v.-drug users on ilx, etc. So, I'm surprised by the results. I figured there might have been a couple gay people who were like, "fuck it. I don't have HIV and I know I don't have HIV." I dunno. Your input is valuable to me though, Plasmon. It's good to have the perspective of a medical professional and end user of the product.

I'm less concerned with how's life's donation than the idea of others with worse reasoning capabilities using the same line of thought less intelligently.

how's life, don't tell people you did this! Next thing you know, I'll be giving blood because I'm pretty sure that girl I think I had sex with, but I was drunk and wasn't sure, might not have hepatitis anymore because you can get over that right

I guess what I'm saying is having people self-assess their risk profiles outside of given criteria is kind of a bad idea, even if the current criteria is outdated.

There's also the question as to what the point is. Not being able to donate blood isn't a human rights violation, even if the criteria should be updated or amended. Meanwhile receiving an infusion of someone else's blood collected under false pretences (literally!) is a violation of autonomy for the patient, because of the principle of informed consent, even if there is no demonstrable harm.

Would you want to hear that your pilot is taking short cuts on the preflight checklist, or your surgeon is cutting corners on sterile technique, because it's obviously going to be OK anyway so what's the difference?

I am super anemic so I cannot give blood. I am on the verge of needing a transfusion myself!

American Medical Association calls on reversal of gay blood donor ban

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/21/american-medical-association-calls-on-reversal-of-gay-blood-donor-ban/

But asking for a wait period of 12 months after last time having sex, seems...not a ton better?

Seroconversion can take several months, so HIV testing isn't considered absolutely reliable for a year after last exposure.