THOUGH HE was required to fill out a lengthy questionnaire about his sexual history, his health, and his personal habits, and to read warnings against donating blood if he was a homosexual or drug user, my husband was asked the following question in an oral interview when he went to give blood to the American Red Cross today:

Are you a biological male?

Now, my husband has a mustache and a beard. He has hairy arms, a male physique and a bass voice. Something more than massive hormone therapy and surgery would be required to make a woman appear so much like a man. Furthermore, the written forms asked him to reveal his sex. If he had lied on the forms about his sex, would be be likely to correct the lie in an oral interview? He also told them he had not had homosexual relations.

Is this question, which is now a standard part of the local Red Cross interview, necessary? Regardless of what the purpose of the question is and whether it is medically necessary or not, the effect is to spread the notion that a “sex change operation” is normal and does in fact changes one’s sex. The effect is also to embarrass the donor.

                                                          — Comments —

Karen I. writes:

It is terrible that the Red Cross is humiliating donors in the way you describe. I have had surgeries where donated blood was ordered to be in the O.R. in case I needed it and I have two close relatives whose lives were saved by transfusions. I am forever grateful to those anonymous donors who gave their blood. I am even more grateful now that I know they may have endured humiliating questions to save the lives of people they will never even see.

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