GIVE BLOOD for the Holidays!

   Tuesday, my family went from calm to crisis.   My youngest cousin, mother of two boys aged 7 and 9, was admitted to the hospital with severe anemia, a hemoglobin of 6 gm and dropping!  Two surgeries later, she had received a total of eleven pints of blood, plus platelets, and a diagnosis of an aggressive cancer.  As I waited at home, I was thankful that I could donate blood and had given recently.   Ironically, her younger brother, praying in the hospital waiting room, couldn't help her by giving blood.    He is in a long term monogamous gay relationship, and according to the guidelines recommended by the Red Cross, the American Association of Blood Banks and the other professional groups most knowledgeable about the safety of our blood supply, he should be allowed to give blood.  However, the FDA has ignored advances in medical science and still discriminates against gay men in their blood donation policy.   For the benefit of all those who need blood, as well as my cousin Allan and all the other gay men who would like to give blood, think about making a stop at the Piedmont Blood Center on Main Street during your holiday shopping!   No apt needed, takes about an hour.   /Social Concerns chair, Alice Sutton