I'm curious. How many hobbyists/providers actually say "YES" to the question of: "Have you had sexual content with a prostitute within the last 12 months?"

Heck, they now ask you if you have had nicotine within the last 30 days.

I still donate every 8 weeks and lie every time.

I guess, I was expecting you to give the location of some blood drive or something. So, I got an extra good laugh. I haven't donated in a few years now, but when I used to donate--I'll admit--I lied and said no.
I wonder if anybody ever has said "yes" to that???

They came into my place of employment and I donated. I haven't for awhile due to my vacationing spots. (Could catch malaria)

I found the questions interesting and even got a good laugh out of it myself

I'd have to say, lie. I did not give a FUCK where that blood came from when I needed it, and I honestly think a lot of the restrictions come from out of date fear mongering and lack of people/motivation to do all the proper testing before they give it to someone else

I'll applaud you for your desire to help.

However.....as someone who's peripherally connected to the blood industry (not personal, but know people well inside it.)

Please do not lie on the screening questions.  If it's discovered after the fact that the donor has lied, anything produced from that donation is immediately recalled.  That includes pooled products as well.  If the products have already been transfused, the attending physicians are notified.  Yes, it's a huge amount of work, along with potentially wasting other donations.

OhCharlie, I'd agree that as a recipient, yeah, I'd want as many people as possible to be able to donate.  However, the blood industry has to err on the side of caution.  The goal isn't to play the numbers game, it's to produce as close to a zero risk product as they can.  For instance, a donor called in to get the results of the testing on their donation, HiV specifically.  The blood center immediately went into overdrive to recall anything that their donation went into, a week after the donation.  Given that the donor obviously felt they were at risk, I'd say the blood center was well & truly justified in disposing of the donation & everything that went with it.  It also results in thousands of dollars of testing & supplies and staff time being utterly wasted.  AFAIK, most centers are doing pooled HiV tests, only doing individual tests to find the particular donor when the pooled test comes back positive (whole lot gets quarantined in that case until the situation is resolved.)  And before you say it, IIRC, there is a small window of opportunity where the donation can be infectious but still pass the test.  This is why they rely heavily on the screening questions as well as testing.

Yup. Not to mention, have they asked if someone has had unprotected sex with a spouse who may be cheating on him/her with P4P? Or may have cheated with someone who has had sex with a prostitute?  

Or asked, "Have you been tested for STD's in the past - let's see - one day - since you last gave a BBBJCIM to someone who wasn't tested a day before you gave it to them after having no sex for six months to a year?

lol. In some cases, having protected sex with a provider, IMO, is safer than having unprotected sex with a boyfriend or girlfriend.

They test the blood thoroughly before giving it to any patients. When you've got one day to find matching blood or you'll die, but are running the risk of getting some kind of STD that you can live with and manage, (and the risks are low by the way they test the blood,) I'd choose the blood from the monger.

Many of the current screening questions came out of the HIV/AIDS scare in the mid 80s. It wasn't until 85 that the blood supply was screened for HIV. Unfortunately, hundreds of hemophiliacs had contracted the virus by then. So what you're seeing with those questions is a reaction to that.

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