No gay blood in South Africa.Most of the approximately 5 to 6 million people infected in·fect tr.v. in·fect·ed, in·fect·ing, in·fects 1. To contaminate with a pathogenic microorganism or agent. 2. To communicate a pathogen or disease to. 3. To invade and produce infection in. with HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. in South Africa--the largest HIV-positive population in any country--are straight. But that hasn't stopped the South African National Blood Services from singling out gay men for a blood ban. In a January 12 statement blood bank chief Robert Crookes said men who have had sex with men in the five years prior are no longer allowed to donate blood due to the risk of transmitting HIV. He said the policy is based on "international practice," including a Food and Drug Administration ban on blood from gays in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. . Several local gay rights groups have been protesting the new policy, saying most of the country's HIV patients are straight women. "We feel very strongly that they are discriminating dis·crim·i·nat·ing adj. 1. a. Able to recognize or draw fine distinctions; perceptive. b. Showing careful judgment or fine taste: against the gay community," said Marlow Valentine of Triangle Project, a South African gay rights group. "It is known that unprotected anal sex Noun 1. anal sex - intercourse via the anus, committed by a man with a man or woman anal intercourse, buggery, sodomy sexual perversion, perversion - an aberrant sexual practice; is higher risk for transmission, but it is a myth that all gay men practice it. It has also come to light that many heterosexual men practice unprotected anal sex." |
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