Holiday rant

Picture it. New Westminster, 2006. (sorry, I was watching The Golden Girls today).

Anyways... On to the rant.

I was at the skytrain station the other day. While waiting for my train to arrive, I saw a PSA notice on the skytrain announcement ticker board (the thing that tells you what train is approaching, etc).

The message was soliciting donations of blood over the busy Christmas season. A cause worth advertising, if you ask me.

But... Every damn year, the Canadian Blood Services people start talking about how donations are low, and that they need XY units of blood to get them through the holiday season, and how they need people to roll up their sleeves and donate.

Well, I've got a wild and crazy idea. In fact, this idea is so wild and crazy that it just might work. It goes something like this:
LET US GAY/BI GUYS GIVE BLOOD!!!

Simple, no?

Some of you may be asking what being gay/bi has to do with donating blood and saving lives. Well, here's what. If you're a guy who has had sex with another guy EVEN ONCE SINCE 1977, you are permanently deferred from giving blood. Permanent. As in... forever! They don't ask you any additional questions about your sexual history to see if you really ARE high-risk. They just assume you are, and show you the door.

They want blood. I have blood. I'm willing to give them said blood. All they've got to do is let me!

On that note, if you are able to give blood, please do so. Both soon and on a regular basis. Don't let my rant stop you from saving lives.