The fight for the freedom of Gay men to be able to Give Blood

So yesterday I was lucky enough to be invited to the House of Lords to be apart of a big discussion hosted by a group called freedom to donate about the right for Gay men to be able to donate blood. Most people can give blood. As long as they are fit and healthy, weigh over 7 stone 12 lbs (50kg) and are aged between 17 and 66 (up to 70 if you have given blood before) you should be able to give blood. If you are over 70, you need to have given blood in the last two years to continue donating. However, If you are female, aged under 20 years old and weigh under 65kg (10st 3lb) and are under 168cm (5' 6") in height, they will need to estimate your blood volume before donating.
Did you know that 9%of donors live in Greater London and 7,000 units of blood are used to treat a range of health issues including cancer, A&E incidents and maternity care. You may not be able to donate blood if:-
you have had a serious illness or major surgery in the past
you have had complicated dental work (it is safe to donate blood 24 hours after having a filling or seven days after a simple extraction)
you have recently come into contact with an infectious disease
you have had certain immunisations within the last four weeks
you are currently on a hospital waiting list, or waiting to have tests
You should not give blood if:
you have a chesty cough, sore throat or an active cold sore
you are taking antibiotics or have finished a course of antibiotics in the last seven days
you are pregnant or have given birth in the last six months
you have had hepatitis A or jaundice in the last 12 months
you have had a tattoo, semi-permanent make up or any sort of body piercing in the last four months
a member of your immediate family has had Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) – a rare condition that affects the nervous system and causes brain damage
you have had acupuncture in the last four months, unless this was done within the NHS or by a qualified healthcare professional registered with a statutory body
you have received human pituitary extract (a substance used in some growth hormone and fertility treatments before 1985)
you have received blood during the course of a medical treatment or procedure since 1980
You should not donate blood for 12 months after having sex with:
a commercial sex worker
someone who has injected drugs
someone who has haemophilia (a condition that stops your blood from clotting normally) or another type of blood disorder that required clotting factor treatment
someone who has been sexually active in parts of the world where HIV and AIDS are common – such as sub-Saharan Africa
a man who has had oral or anal sex with another man (if you are female)
a man (if you are male) – with or without a condom
You should never donate blood if you have ever:
had HIV
had hepatitis C
had syphilis
had human t-lymphotropic virus (HTLV)
injected yourself with drugs
worked as a commercial sex worker
As you can the list extensive but the point of yesterday's meeting was that any blood that is donated has to be extensively tested before it is used. Even now many people whom have a relative or loved one in hospital who need to have a blood transfusion for what ever reason still donate blood but can still lie on the question air but times have moved on and so has technology for blood to be tested to make sure it is safe to use. Ruth Hunt director of LGBT charity stonewall made a great speech about how we as gay men should have the right to take responsibility for our sexual actions and be trusted to declare or honest sexual health status. Join to campaign for the right to donate for information visit http://www.freedomtodonate.co.uk

Life and the legacy we leave

Hi Guys & Girls,

So slightly profound topic but have you ever given any thort to what your legacy would be when you pass? I hadn't really not until a week or so ago me and Marc where having one of many Indepth conversations about life and so on and he said something that has resonated with me. He writes music and sings as well as keeping London moving ( his a train driver ) and he said to me that he wants his songs to be his legacy, and I suddenly thort what have I got to leave behind when I go, or what do I want to be remembered for?. Well ever since that conversation that I can't get out of my head I really have given it some time to go round my very simple mind and I really can't put my finger on anything imperticular. For a lot of heterosexual people children are the legacy they leave behind, for high powered business men and women the companies they have created are the mark of thier time on this earth. 

You may ask do we need to leave a legacy and I guess the answer is no, we don't have to. We can leave our foot prints in so many other ways such as the friendships we build, the peers we surround our selfs with, the social outings we go on and pictures we leave behind. 

It has all really got me thinking that by being a Gay man I don't have children in my life that will carry on my family name or grow a business that I have created or even be influenced by the upbringing I have given them. 

We are lucky in a sence that the birth of Google and social media has given us ways to put parts of self out into the world, for Marc his music will still be floating around the World Wide Web even when he goes. But for me a hair cut I give someone will grow out in 6 weeks, the make up I do will be washed off that night.

I don't feel that my life has no meaning if I don't leave anything behind but it is a nice thort almost comforting to know that when I pass I will have something possivitve that I can leave. 

My self and Marc as well as being together in a relationship have started our own business called Wigz on Wheelz and it is a mobile medicle wig service for people undergoing medicle treatment or gender reassignment, but before this I was managing the salon in Selfridges and was the wig specialist in the salon. I used to and still do see clients on a daily basis that are facing the possibility of death, and the feeling I get from that is undiscrible. Seeing a person Infront of me who is losing their hair is horrible I wish I could make them better and take the pain away but it's well beyond the powers of my scissors. But I can do is be a small part of their life in helping them keep their identity. 

For so many of us if we know it or not hair is apart of our identity and how we can express our selfs easily and for various reasons this can be taken away from us. Being a hairdresser my hair has been every colour & style going so I have always used my hair as an extension of my characteristic. 

So I guess what I'd like to believe is that the legacy I could one day leave behind is that I have been apart of people's life when they have needed someone to help them feel like them again. I'm not saying I'm self important and people will be externally greatful and remember me for eternity. But just knowing I have been able to give someone their identity back or help them feel like them again, that is enough for me.

Much Love D