We’ll admit we were first drawn to this public-service announcement by the cute nerdy boy coated in silver paint. (he’s totally giving us a Goldfinger flashback.) But once we watched the clip, we thought it was a genius concept: Copywriter Graham Douglas has teamed up with Help Remedies to create a bandage box that includes a bone-marrow registration kit (all for just $4). If you slice your finger with a knife or get bitch-slapped by your tabby, just swab a bit of blood on the provided cotton tip and mail it off to DKMS, the world’s largest blood-marrow registry.
And then bandage the cut, of course.
Douglas was inspired to create “Help, I’ve Cut Myself and I Want to Save a Life“ after his brother was diagnosed with leukemia. He was astounded by the lack of available donors, even though testing and donation have become much easier and less invasive.
The only downside? According to the FDA’s guidelines, gay men can’t donate bone marrow unless they’ve been celibate for five years. Which is total bullshit. Even more than blood, bone marrow is in extremely rare supply—matches are very hard to find and few people even bother to sign up for the registry. And marrow isn’t banked like blood, so you’d know who it’s coming from and can test them for any icky STDs.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
If you think this state of affairs stinks, there’s a petition you can sign. If you’re a lesbian or straight person you should get yourself on the registry. And if you’re a sexually active gay man, well, you can just lie—not something we encourage usually but lives are literally at stake.
Source: PSFK
Charley
Maybe they’d have been okay if he said he saw himself married and divorced from three women in ten years? Sanctity of marriage, don’t you know.
the crustybastard
If the bone marrow registry (or any other tissue donation organization, for that matter) persists in complaining there are not enough donors, THEY should be the ones petitioning the FDA to drop the antiquated (and now merely discriminatory) ban on gay men donating tissues.
Gay men are famously generous, but don’t insist the LGBT community alone bears the obligation to go hat in hand to the government so we can beg some bigoted bureaucrats to quit being dicks long enough to let us to save some lives.
Mike
I donated bone marrow in Oct 2010, and I can tell you I wasn’t celibate for 5 years before that. I was open about my sexual orientation and health issues and I was still able to donate and save another man’s life.
MEJ
Holy shit that was funny 8^)
And that cat is a motherfucker.
Amy
I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to donate bone marrow either since I don’t talk. I have been petitioning my blood bank to allow people who aren’t able to speak the chance to donate blood: http://www.change.org/petitions/houchin-community-blood-bank-stop-denying-those-who-are-unable-to-speak-from-donating-blood
This kind of discrimination is not right and only exists because of fear and ignorance.