Studio RAW Friends

Jcubed2003

I'm not sure if you follow them on Facebook and have seen Dan's latest video. Rohn was an organ donor. After 1/2 an hour of questions to both Dan and Rohn's Mom, it was determined that they would not accept his perfectly healthy organs. Why? Because he was in a homosexual relationship with Dan. They have started a change.org petition to help bring awareness to this outdated policy.http://goo.gl/SpC6hK #TeamRohn

egpitt22

I heard about this last night, signed the petition this morning.  I had no idea this was an actual thing, nor do I understand the reasoning behind it at all.  Is it a state by state thing, or a nationwide policy?? 

AmandaJLewis

Emmy, I can only assume it is linked to the higher occurrences of HIV/AIDS in the gay male population as compared to hetero males.  And fear mongering. 

Jcubed2003

I would imagine that this policy was instituted back when AIDS was synonymous with being a gay man or an IV drug user. I am not sure what level the policy is at. But I really hope it changes. Rohn was so healthy and devoted so much of his life to helping others. There was no GOOD reason for his organs not to be harvested.

egpitt22

Now I'm just curious about the whole thing, but google isn't coming up with any definitive answers about the policies or laws regarding this.  I find a lot of stuff about blood donations (also prohibited) but organ donation articles are very vague.

lala5507

That is very sad.  It seems like an incredibly outdated policy.  Don't they check the organs to make sure they are healthy?  I mean, realistically, couldn't a straight person have hiv or something else too?

gwennythepooh

I'd love to hear a good explanation on this, because right now I have a REALLY hard time wrapping my mind around this. 

Meghan&Rich

I don't think his organs could have been donated anyway, since he did not pass away on a ventilator.  However, his tissue could have been donated but was rejected because he was in a relationship with a man.

Gay/bisexual men account for around half of the HIV cases in the US; and it's estimated about 20% of gay/bisexual men have HIV.  That health risk might be something to consider when it comes to organ/blood donation, however, I would think it should also be something that is easily screened...or at the very least a statement that these decisions are based on infection risk, not the fact that the person is gay.  (For example, a gay woman is able to donate.) I have been trying to educate myself on this issue, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of concrete info out there (at least none that I have been able to find in the last 24 hours).

Jcubed2003

I remember all too well answering the questions that CORE asks. I donated some of my Mom's tissues and corneas when she died 9 years ago. I kind of giggled at some of them because if you knew my Mom, you knew that she was not a person who would have been in any of the "risk categories," but she wasn't exactly the picture of health either. But it did give me comfort that part of her would "live" on through someone else. With all of the talk about how scarce donated organs are, I can't come up with a good reason to have buried Rohn's. He could have helped so many people and that would have been something he would have been proud to be a part of.

BethieB

Thanks for posting this; I don't go to their studio but this exclusion is just crazy.  I signed the petition. (And Meghan, thanks for the explaination. Makes sense about the organs, but still sad about the tissue.)

bride2003

So many organ & blood laws are outdated.  My friend lived in England for a year about 20+ years ago and she is never allowed to donate blood b/c of it.  Something to do with the "threat" of mad cow disease there.  Meanwhile we have more mad cow disease here than England ever did.  Its bizarre

sarahandtim

I feel completely ignorant about the entire organ donating process, but couldn't they somehow test for AIDS or HIV? Can that only be done while the person is alive?

lala5507

sarahandtim said:

I feel completely ignorant about the entire organ donating process, but couldn't they somehow test for AIDS or HIV? Can that only be done while the person is alive?

That's what I'm wondering.  You think that's something they should test for regardless.

egpitt22

sarah-I was wondering the same thing??  And surely they do that test for anyone, regardless of their risk factors, right?

waltsgirl102503

I would think there has to be a way for them to test for diseases.  And I wonder if they couldn't ask the ones receiving the organs if they're willing to accept an organ from someone that they consider to be higher risk.  I can't imagine anyone on a list waiting for an organ turning down a perfectly healthy one.  

BethieB

egpitt22 said:

sarah-I was wondering the same thing??  And surely they do that test for anyone, regardless of their risk factors, right?


Yep - I had to do it for both IVF attempts and had to do it to be a surrogate as well.