Cal students sidestep blood-donor policy

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Apr 8, 2008 | by Matt Krupnick

Since San Jose State University fired the opening volley in January, the battle over blood has led to some soul-searching among college administrators.

At campuses around the Bay Area, school leaders have reconsidered whether to allow blood drives. Federal laws prohibit sexually active gay men from donating blood, which led the San Jose campus to suspend donations so it would not run afoul of the university's nondiscrimination policy.

The San Jose decision rippled across Bay Area institutions. Two South Bay community colleges quickly followed suit, and Sonoma State University, which contributes about 5 percent of Sonoma County's blood, is considering its own suspension.

But the protest-friendly University of California, Berkeley, which holds monthly blood drives, has steadfastly refused to join the movement. On Monday the campus had a student-organized drive that encouraged gay men to recruit donors in their place.

The Berkeley drive was organized last year by Jeff Manassero, now a senior majoring in history and political science. Manassero, who is gay, said he was surprised when he was turned away from giving blood in high school.

"It was just disillusioning to me to be denied for that reason," he said.

The ban on gay men was instituted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about 25 years ago, when AIDS was ravaging the gay community, and has been increasingly criticized as out of date and inconsistent. The agency has discussed loosening those restrictions but is looking for more research on the dangers of tainted blood, said FDA spokeswoman Peper Long.

"We are open to changes ... if we arepresented with compelling data," she said.

Despite the FDA guidelines, UC Berkeley students and employees have foregone the cacophonous and colorful demonstrations usually appended to controversial issues there. Instead, Manassero chose the quiet path.

Last year's inaugural sponsored blood drive brought in about 100 donations, he said, and organizers hoped to more than double that number Monday. With blood supplies running low across the region, this event is the right way to protest the FDA rules, Manassero said.

"I'm not a very confrontational individual," he said, "so I felt like protesting and taking blood out of the supply would be a bit silly."

In a written statement to his campus, San Jose State President Don Kassing said in January that he believed the time had come to end the FDA ban. He criticized the FDA for moving too slowly to study the issue.

"I am troubled the FDA has not, to our knowledge, made progress with additional research," he wrote.

Blood-bank administrators said they are relieved that more schools have not followed San Jose State's lead.

"Students are the next generation of blood donors," said Michele Hyndman, a spokeswoman for the Stanford University Blood Center, where students contribute one-fifth of its supply. "If we didn't have access to students, it would be devastating to our blood supplies."

UC Berkeley administrators have supported Manassero's efforts and have discussed ways to make it easier for gay students and employees to get others to donate on their behalf. Banning blood drives would be the wrong choice, said Trish Ratto, who manages the university health center's wellness program and helps organize blood drives.

"I'm really proud of UC Berkeley that we're not going that direction," she said. "Damaging the blood supply isn't going to help."

Contact Matt Krupnick at 925-943-8246 or mkrupnick@bayareanewsgroup.com.