General
Proud of 🌈 Pride 🏳️🌈 💙♻️💚
In the U.S., the month of June is always designated and celebrated as National 🌈 Pride 🏳️🌈 Month
International / Global LGBTQI+ Pride Day is celebrated on June 28th to commemorate the Stonewall Riots (NYC, 1969), and to recognize the LGBTQ+ community's fight for equality and visibility. It is a day of celebration and a reminder of the ongoing need for acceptance and respect for all gender identities and sexual orientations. The annual celebration in support of equal rights for LGBT
Q+ people has expanded to more than one hundred countries, however, it continues to face intense opposition from some governments.
As the month of June has just wrapped up, we in the transplant community need to remember that #OrganDonation and #Transplantation is intended to be an inclusive process. Members of the LGBTQIA+ community are eligible to both donate and receive organs. Their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression does not affect their eligibility. Over the years, members of this community in the U.S. have been both living and deceased organ donors. They have saved countless lives by making the ♻️#GiftofLife ✅️ possible for so many.
Anyone can sign up /register to be an Organ Donor (deceased or living), regardless of who they love or how they express themselves! Registration is open to everyone, including those who are:
- Gay, lesbian, or bisexual
- Questioning their sexual identity or orientation
- Transgender, regardless of the person's physical anatomy or appearance
- HIV positive **
** People living with treatable conditions, like Hepatitis C, B, and HIV, can all receive transplants these days. Since there are better medications and advancements in transplant, both potential organ recipients AND potential organ donors who are also HCV+ or HIV+ may save the life of someone on the list who is also positive for the same treatable condition. The HIV Organ Policy Equity (HOPE) Act was passed in 2013. The HOPE Act allows people living with HIV to be organ donors to people on the transplant wait list, who are also living with HIV. By continuously expanding the number of people who can be organ donors, everyone can receive a transplant faster. Every time a donor under the HOPE Act saves the life of a person on the waitlist, everyone else on the waitlist moves “up” even faster. the HOPE Act has helped reduce stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS, which has historically been associated with the LGBTQ+ community. By highlighting the importance of treating HIV-positive individuals with dignity and respect, the HOPE Act has helped promote greater understanding and acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community.
As a society, we have made progress to be more inclusive, yet, discrimination and violence against members of the LGBTQ+ community persist. There should be no discrimination in the realm of Transplantation and Organ, Eye, & Tissue Donation Collectively, let’s all continue to educate, advocate and raise awareness for organ donation to save more lives.
Register to 💙#DonateLife 💚 --> registerme.org
#themoreweknow #education #awareness
1 - 2 of 2 Replies
Transplant Patient
Yes!!! So glad you brought this up. I loved being involved in all my local Pride activities during the month of June.
pride month may be over but it’s always the right time to share about inclusive transplant and organ donation practices.
🏳️🌈🌈
My daughter is gay, my best friend is trans. I was a dancer during the AIDS epidemic, lost many friends. I celebrate diversity everyday.
I am reading this on the day when a huge blow to our community was given. Thank you for posting this.