Finally my day off! I

     Finally my day off! I got up around noon and lounged around the house for a little while before running a few errands. Nothing too exciting though. I really need this day to just chill out. I got a data cable for my cell phone so that I could upload ringers and images instead of paying for Verizon's "Get it Now" service. C'mon, $1.99 for a ringer?
     I read in the Suburbanite (a local paper) that the Red Cross is having a bit of a blood problem in our area. Just not enough blood in the supply. So I thought that on my day off I would go up to the Red Cross in Akron to donate. It's been many years since I've donated blood so I thought I would check redcross.org before heading up there to see if the "restriction" was still on there. Sure enough it was. "Those who are at increased risk for becoming infected with HIV are not eligible to donate blood. According to the Food and Drug Administration, you are at increased risk if: you are a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once;" Well, not to get real personal here, but I guess I'm disqualified. I won't lie on that little form. (Although someone once said, "It's not lying if they make you lie.") I'm a little disturbed by this. Don't they test the blood? I mean there are thousands of people in the US who are infected that aren't gay men. I also think this restriction is a bit too general. I may be gay, but that doesn't mean I'm a tramp. I've been in a monogamous relationship for over 3 years and have tested HIV- recently. I don't see myself as being in a high risk catagory. It's not being gay that makes you a risk factor, it's your behavior. I mean if a straight, single man is a raging hormone, I'd say he's more likely than I am to be a risk to the blood supply. What would you do? Would you lie on the form to do something you know is right and good?