Openly ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ Profile picture
Jun 14, 2022 โ€ข 11 tweets โ€ข 5 min read โ€ข Read on X
๐Ÿฉธ Many countries have banned gay and bisexual men from giving blood since the 1980s.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ But attitudes and rules have changed over the past few years.

๐Ÿ‘‡ For #WorldBloodDonorDay, we look at the history of the laws and which countries are making progress. ๐Ÿงต Participants in the annual ...A man donates blood at the ...Outbreak of the coronavirus...French ACT UP demonstrators...
๐Ÿ”ด Why do blood donation bans exist in the first place?

๐ŸŒ Many countries introduced controls during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ The first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981 among gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Bags with donated blood lie...
โญ•๏ธ By the end of the year, there were 337 reported cases of what was then known as a โ€œgay-related immune deficiencyโ€.

130 people had died.

๐ŸŒ Four years later, there was at least one reported AIDS case in every region of the world. Hundreds of members of the ...
๐Ÿšซ Rules were put in place when infected blood, much of which was donated by drug users and prisoners, contaminated supplies and put recipients at risk of infection.

โฐ Some countries had total bans, while others required abstention from sex for a certain period. Hundreds of members of the ...
๐Ÿ”ด How has science made it safer to donate blood?

๐Ÿ”ฌ The technology used to check blood for potential issues has improved.

๐Ÿ”Ž Donations are systematically screened for viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

๐Ÿ‘The treatment for HIV/AIDS also makes it possible to give blood. A red ribbon memorializes W...
๐Ÿ’Š In 2012, the U.S. approved PrEP โ€“ a daily pill that reduces the chance of getting HIV from sex by 99%.

๐Ÿ“‰ Almost 80 countries followed suit and infection rates have fallen in those places.

โŒ HIV drugs now suppress the virus too, so it canโ€™t be passed on. A sign reads undetectable e...
๐Ÿฉบ Antiretroviral treatments also mean that people living with HIV/AIDS can live long healthy lives.

But despite the advances in prevention and treatment, many countries still uphold blood bans - even though the science suggests it can be done safely. ๐Ÿ‘‡
๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ LGBTQ+ campaigners have decried bans and abstinence periods as discriminatory.

๐Ÿฉธ The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic also created pressure to drop sexuality-based rules, as the cancellation of blood drives led to a drop in supplies. A man donates blood at a ho...
๐Ÿ”ด So, which countries have changed their rules recently?

In the past couple of years, countries like ๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France, ๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece and ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel have lifted their bans.

Other nations such as ๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ the U.S. and ๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand have cut their waiting period.
bit.ly/3NHB0u5
๐Ÿ—“ In the past two months, ๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada and ๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria have completely scrapped restrictions.

๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ช While Belgium and ๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ชIreland have relaxed their waiting period.

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finally, countries like Slovenia have introduced individual risk-based assessments using questionnaires. Belgian student squeezes a ...
๐ŸŒ What are the rules around donating blood in your country?

๐Ÿ‘‡ Tell us below! #BloodDonationDay #WorldBloodDonorDay2022

โ€ข โ€ข โ€ข

Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
ใ€€

Keep Current with Openly ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ

Openly ๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ Profile picture

Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!

Read all threads

This Thread may be Removed Anytime!

PDF

Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!

Try unrolling a thread yourself!

how to unroll video
  1. Follow @ThreadReaderApp to mention us!

  2. From a Twitter thread mention us with a keyword "unroll"
@threadreaderapp unroll

Practice here first or read more on our help page!

More from @Openly

Nov 17, 2022
โ“ Are we facing a trans ageing crisis?

๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ Around 1 in 200 Americans aged 65 and over are trans.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ As the first generation of trans people reaches old age, healthcare systems are unprepared.

๐ŸŒˆ For #TransAwarenessWeek, we spoke to trans people about growing old. ๐Ÿงต
๐Ÿ”ด Social isolation
๐Ÿ”ด Housing discrimination
๐Ÿ”ด Lack of safe medical spaces
๐Ÿ”ด ...and much more.

๐Ÿ‘ต The challenges trans elders face are often similar to those faced by trans people of all ages, but exacerbated as they get older, says Kylie Madhav, senior director at @sageusa.
๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ Elizabeth Coffey was a star in the early films of cult film-maker John Waters.

๐Ÿฅ While breaking ground for trans representation on screen, she faced rejection when seeking medical care.

๐Ÿ’Š Later in life, hormone replacement therapy has caused issues, she told @Openly.
Read 11 tweets
Nov 16, 2022
๐Ÿ† Nominations for the #GRAMMYs are out!

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ @kimpetras, @ladygaga and @RandyRainbow are among the many #LGBTQ+ artists nominated for the 2023 Awards.

๐ŸŽถ Let's take a look at some of this year's queer nominations. ๐Ÿงต Grammy Awards trophies
๐ŸŽต @brandicarlile is one of the most nominated artists this year โ€“ coming in just behind @Beyonce and @kendricklamar, and being tied with @Adele on seven nominations.

๐Ÿ’ฟ For the second time, she might snap up the coveted 'Album of the Year'. Brandi Carlile arrives at t...
๐ŸŒˆ @RandyRainbow has been nominated for his first-ever Grammy.

๐Ÿง  The comedian and songwriter is up for the 'Best Comedy Album' award for 'A Little Brains, a Little Talent'.
Read 9 tweets
Oct 19, 2022
๐Ÿ’ญ Do you know how to use gender-neutral pronouns in your native tongue?

๐Ÿ—ฃ๏ธ On #InternationalPronounsDay, we're taking a deep-dive into non-binary pronouns in a range of languages.

๐ŸŒ Join us on a linguistic trip around the world.
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spanish

Pronouns, nouns and adjectives are gendered in Spanish.

The suffixes -o and -a are the most common gender markers, but many non-binary people now replace them with an -e instead.

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง English

Although not entirely genderless, the English language is more inclusive than many.

While you've probably heard of the increasingly popular 'they/them' as alternative pronouns, others are also becoming popular.

Many use neo-pronouns, including 'xe', 'ze' and 'co'. People protesting for trans and non-binary rights
Read 12 tweets
Oct 8, 2022
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Welcome to Lesbos, Greece.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ The Greek island is inhabited by 115,000 Lesbians, but has also given its name to women loving women worldwide.

๐ŸŒˆ For #InternationalLesbianDay, let's take a look at the history of the word "lesbian". ๐Ÿงต Photo of harbour on LesbosPainting of Sappho
๐Ÿ›๏ธ From the Iliad to the Odyssey, Lesbos has had a central part in Ancient Greek history.

โœ’๏ธ One of its most famous inhabitants was the 6th century B.C. poet Sappho, whose lyrical poems explored her love of women and their beauty โ€“ sometimes even venturing into the erotic. Fresco of Sappho
๐Ÿ‘ฉ Sappho was regarded as one of the greatest poets of her time.

๐Ÿ“œ Today, not much is known about her life, and much of her work has been lost over the centuries.

๐Ÿ‘ฉโ€โค๏ธโ€๐Ÿ’‹โ€๐Ÿ‘ฉ But Sappho's homoerotic writing โ€“ and possible personal life โ€“ has been discussed since Hellenistic times. Drawing of Sappho
Read 9 tweets
Oct 7, 2022
โœŠ๐Ÿฟ Black, British and queer โ€“ but often overlooked.

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง It's #BlackHistoryMonth in the UK and we're looking at those who shaped Black British queer history - and those still changing the world today.

๐ŸŒˆ Here are some of the Black #LGBTQ+ pioneers you should know. ๐Ÿงต Reginald Foresythe plays the piano Photo portrait of Claude McKay Ken "Snakehips" Johnson performing Photo portrait of Rotimi Fani-Kayode
Ken "Snakehips" Johnson (1914-1941)

๐ŸŽท A jazz bandleader and dancer, Johnson was a leading figure in Black British music in the '30s and '40s.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ Part of the first Black British band in residency at the infamous Cafรฉ de Paris, he died when the club got bombed during the Blitz. Ken "Snakehips" Johnson performing
Demi Stokes (b.1991)

โšฝ๏ธ The @ManCity and England player was part of the Euro 2022 winning team, which has been credited with spiking interest in women's football.

๐Ÿ† Stokes came out publicly last year by announcing she was expecting a child with her partner Katie. Demi Stokes holds up a trophy
Read 12 tweets
Sep 30, 2022
๐Ÿšจ America's most frequently banned books are LGBTQ+.

๐Ÿ“š U.S. schools banned more than 674 titles in the past year featuring LGBTQ+ themes or characters, @PENamerica found.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€โšง๏ธ 9% of these had trans storylines.

๐Ÿณ๏ธโ€๐ŸŒˆ Let's take a look at the most censored queer books. ๐Ÿงต Book cover of Gender QueerBook cover of Beyond MagentaBook cover of All Boys Aren...Book cover of This Book Is Gay
"Gender Queer: A Memoir" by Maia Kobabe

โ›”๏ธ Kobabe's 2019 debut graphic memoir is the most banned book in America, having been outlawed by 41 school districts.

โœ’๏ธ The coming-of-age story follows Kobabe's exploration of gender identity while coming out as non-binary. Book cover of Gender Queer
"All Boys Arenโ€™t Blue" by @IamGMJohnson

๐ŸŒˆ The second-most banned LGBTQ+ book in American schools is a "memoir-manifesto" that explores growing up Black and queer.

๐Ÿšซ Queer sex and sexual trauma are the reasons cited by 29 districts for removing the book from their shelves. Book cover of All Boys Aren...
Read 9 tweets

Did Thread Reader help you today?

Support us! We are indie developers!


This site is made by just two indie developers on a laptop doing marketing, support and development! Read more about the story.

Become a Premium Member ($3/month or $30/year) and get exclusive features!

Become Premium

Don't want to be a Premium member but still want to support us?

Make a small donation by buying us coffee ($5) or help with server cost ($10)

Donate via Paypal

Or Donate anonymously using crypto!

Ethereum

0xfe58350B80634f60Fa6Dc149a72b4DFbc17D341E copy

Bitcoin

3ATGMxNzCUFzxpMCHL5sWSt4DVtS8UqXpi copy

Thank you for your support!

Follow Us!

:(