MCCLURG: His body is coursing with antibodies, little tiny proteins designed to ward off future infections. And yet simply because I am gay, I can't do anything with it. GARRETT-PATE: I potentially have something that could at least help someone recover, prevent someone from dying, in me. The first thing he wanted to do was go to a blood bank as a deadly COVID-19 surge hit Los Angeles. MCCLURG: The 28-year-old was back on his feet after a few weeks. I just was very tired, a bit of body aches. SAMUEL GARRETT-PATE: So I tested positive for COVID couple days after Thanksgiving, actually. MCCLURG: Hearing call-outs like that is painful for Samuel Garrett-Pate. LESLEY MCCLURG, BYLINE: Blood banks are flooding the airwaves.įRANK MCGEORGE: If you are not ill and you qualify to donate blood, please do it. Lesley McClurg from member station KQED explains.
Many argue that a federal policy preventing many gay men from donating blood is driven by stigma rather than science. Yet a portion of the population is restricted from donating. Throughout the pandemic, thousands of blood drives across the country have been canceled, leaving blood supplies critically low.
