Man donates kidney to protest not being able to donate blood
Barton Lynch had donated blood his whole life but recently got into a relationship with a man
By Steve Brown
Words: Steve Brown
A man donated a kidney to protest not being able to donate blood.
Barton Lynch checked into MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, in Virginia, back in May to undergo surgery to donate one of his kidneys after he was unable to donate blood due to being in a relationship with another man.
He told the Washingtonian: “I had been donating blood my whole life, and it was a good way for me to give back.
“Not that long ago, I started dating guys, which now eliminates me from being able to donate blood.”
Currently in America, gay men or men who have sex with men are unable to donate blood unless they have been celibate for 12 months.
“So I needed to find a way to give back that wasn’t giving blood,” he continued. “I know the need is there for kidney donations, so it seemed like a no-brainer – how could I not?”
He then went on to hit back at the FDA’s rules about gay men donating blood and said it’s ‘crazy’ that a whole category of people are being excluded despite there being a nationwide shortage.