Donating blood is everyone's business

The new SAW campaign puts the focus on the prohibition of blood donation from the LGBT community

GAYLES.TV.- The LGTB community has been increasing its visibility in recent years. Part of this visibility we owe to different public figures such as Caitlyn Jenner, the singer Elton John, the poker champion Vanessa Selbst or the film director Pedro Almodóvar that have greatly helped society to begin to accept the reality in which everyone, regardless of our sexual orientation, lives.

The world of cinema and television has been clearly sensitized by the vindication of the rights of this community and there are already many the series and movies They have gay, bisexual, transgender and lesbian characters among their cast. But the support of the film industry for the defense of equal rights is not only the mere representation of all sexual orientations on the big screen but goes much further with advertising campaigns that are a shout for equality and the elimination of stereotypes that are still present in society.

One of the last campaigns that attacks directly against the treatment given to the LGTB community is the Promoted by the latest installment of the popular SAW horror movie franchise. Thirteen years ago the premiere of the first film of the saga, which strongly impacted the viewers for the explicitness of their images. The arrival in the halls of SAW VIII the next 24 in November marks the end of an era that outside the big screen has a background of the least terrifying.

The film, which premiered on October 27 in the United States, has counted again this year with the traditional campaign that appeals to the solidarity of all citizens for blood donation. This type of campaign has been underway since the premiere of the first film in 2004 but never until now have they conveyed such a powerful and demanding message, and that this year's initiative directly attacks to the US ban that does not allow bisexual men, women, lesbians, homosexuals and transsexuals to donate blood in the country unless they have been a year at least without having sex.

under the motto All Types Welcome (All types are welcome), Tim Palen, from the Lionsgate company, has had the collaboration of big names in the LGTB community to create different illustrations and posters that have been disseminated on social networks with the aim of vindicate the importance of blood donation at present and end once and for all with the discrimination that exists towards this sector of the population. In this way, eight personalities among which are the model Shaun Ross, the model Nyakim Gatwech, the transgender icon Amanda Lepore or the film producer Grae Drake They have posed dressed nurses in this campaign, imitating the image of the nurse who was employed in the first 2004 campaign, which despite not being a character of horror fiction is present in the imagination of all fans .

This US ban dates back to the 80 decade when the numerous cases of HIV caused panic among the population. At that time there was no evidence to detect this disease in the blood of donors so the gay and bisexual collective, considered one of the groups with higher risk of transmission, was denied the possibility of donating blood.

With the advance of science and new technologies, it is now possible to determine by a blood test whether the disease is present or not in the blood of the donor. Given this possibility, the United States has reduced the prohibition to donate blood in 2015, allowing blood donation only to those members of the LGTB community who have not had sex in the last 2 years. A measure that continues to outrage this group.

With All Types Welcome, Palen hopes to raise awareness in society of the need not to make distinctions when donating blood because in the end the blood of the whole world shares the same color and identical purpose: save lives.