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How this longtime Red Cross volunteer helped end the FDA’s ban on gay men donating blood
Ralph Galvan has been a volunteer with the American Red Cross for 10 years. But as a gay man, it wasn’t until last year that he was able to donate blood.
Rules the Food and Drug Administration had in place since the 1980s HIV-AIDS crisis kept sexually active gay or bisexual men from donating. To help change that policy, Galvan took part in an FDA-funded study that led to last year’s requirement changes.
“(I) felt really good and really good that, you know, we’re not on the sidelines anymore,” Galvan told CBS News. “Being part of the advance study and helping shape those things, getting rid of the policy, it’s beneficial to me, to my community.”
Guidelines are no longer based on sexual orientation and all potential donors receive the same standard donor history questionnaire.
“This is really exciting because we’re now able to ask every potential donor the same questions, treating them with equality and with respect — all while still maintaining a safe blood supply,” said Mandy McMahon, regional communications director of the American Red Cross of South Carolina.
All donated blood, even from repeat donors, is tested for hepatitis, HIV, syphilis and other transmissible diseases.
Right now, officials say there’s a critical need. Last month, the Red Cross collected 20,000 fewer donations than needed to maintain its national supply.
“Unfortunately throughout the summer months, we know that we can only expect more severe weather and record setting travel, which is gonna further impact the ability of people to come out for their appointments,” McMahon said.
Galvan is grateful he can make a difference.
“It’s a heartfelt moment that I can give now and help others,” he said.
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A teacher and student killed in a shooting earlier this week at a school in Madison, Wisconsin, were identified Wednesday by authorities.
The Dane County Medical Examiner’s Office said in a news release provided to CBS News that 42-year-old Erin West and 14-year-old Rubi Vergara were fatally shot Monday morning at Abundant Life Christian School.
Preliminary examinations determined the two died of “homicidal firearm related trauma.” Both were pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner said.
An online obituary on a local funeral site stated Vergara was a freshman who leaves behind her parents, one brother, and a large extended family. It described her as “an avid reader” who “loved art, singing and playing keyboard in the family worship band.”
West’s exact position with the school was unclear.
The medical examiner also confirmed that a preliminary autopsy found that the suspected shooter, 15-year-old Natalie Rupnow — a student at the same school — was pronounced dead at a local hospital Monday of “firearm related trauma.” Madison Chief of Police Shon F. Barnes had previously told reporters that Rupnow was pronounced dead while being transported to a hospital.
Police had also previously stated that she was believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting at the private Christian K-12 school was reported just before 11 a.m. Monday. In addition to the two people killed and the shooter, six others were wounded.
Police said the shooting occurred in a classroom where a study hall was taking place involving students from several grades.
A handgun was recovered after the shooting, Barnes said, but it was unclear where the gun came from or how many shots were fired. A law enforcement source said the weapon used in the shooting appears to have been a 9 mm pistol.
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