Lance Bass condemns the US for not allowing him to give blood to Las Vegas victims
(Getty and Twitter/Lance Bass)
Lance Bass has hit out at US authorities for stopping countless gay and bisexual men from donating blood in the wake of the Las Vegas mass shooting.
On Sunday night, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock killed 59 people and injured another 527 in the deadliest mass shooting in US history.
After the 273rd mass shooting in the US this year was over, as the death toll was still being counted, thousands in Nevada headed for the nearest blood bank.
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But men who have had sex with men in the last year are banned from giving blood in the US, in accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines.
In the UK, the rules surrounding blood donations from men who have sex with men were relaxed earlier this year.
From early 2018, the deferral period will shrink to 12 weeks.
The US has made no such move, and Bass, a former NSYNC star who came out in 2006, opened up about his frustration with the current rules.
Writing on Twitter, he said: “How is it STILL illegal for gays to donate blood??!! I want to donate and I’m not allowed. ”
(Twitter/Lance Bass)
And Bass, who married his partner of four years, Michael Turchin, in 2014, also responded to a fan who pleaded with him on Instagram to donate blood.
“I can’t. I’m gay. ” he replied, sparking a wave of outrage from fans who had no idea the US restricted blood donations in this way.
The US lifted its blanket ban on men who have sex with men donating blood in 2015.
It had previously been estimated that such a move would save 1.8 million lives.
Bass admitted in 2010 that he made fun of gay kids in high school to hide his own secret sexuality.
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Last year, he opened up about his unsuccessful solo career, suggesting that radio stations may have not played his music because of his sexuality.
The singer released his single ‘Walking on Air’ with Snoop Dogg in 2014, but it failed to chart in the US.
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“It went number one everywhere…except America,” he explained.
“The radio stations wouldn’t play my songs…I don’t know if it’s because I’m gay or if it’s because I’m from NSYNC, but the politics around it is so crazy”.
