have you ever donated blood despite being considered ineligible?

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people self-assess their risk profiles outside of given criteria is kind of a bad idea, even if the current criteria is outdated.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.