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Man told his dead husband’s healthy organs are too gay for donation
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Sean Reinert (@seanreinert) on
A man says his dead husband’s healthy organs were refused by a hospital’s organ donation program because of his sexual orientation.
Sean Reinert was the drummer for the band Cynic and Ex-Death. He was considered by many to be one of metal’s most influential queer icons. He died unexpectedly last month at the age of 48.
“My husband Sean was an organ donor,” Tom Reinert writes on Facebook. “He believed that when he passed on if his organs could go to someone in need that it would be a great thing. He was incredibly kind and giving in every way imaginable as many of his closest friends are well aware.”
Tom explains that he was initially contacted by the hospital’s organ donation program the night of Sean’s death. Speaking to a representative from the program, he was asked to a litany of questions about Sean.
“After the first few standard questions she asked if Sean was a sexually active homosexual male,” Tom writes. “Without thinking I said ‘yes’ and almost without missing a beat she said ‘well, unfortunately that means….” and I went numb because I knew what she was about to say.”
The U.S. Public Health Service dictates that any male who has engaged in same-sex sexual contact in the past twelve months is considered at “increased risk” for HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C. And while organ donations from these men are not totally prohibited, they are evaluated on a unique case-by-case basis.
The official guidelines state:
Since the emergence of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) epidemic, the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS) has made recommendations to reduce the risk of HIV transmission associated with organ transplantation. Historically, recommendations included identifying risk factors among organ donors associated with HIV infection to minimize risk of potential transmission to recipients. … In 2013, based on donor-derived transmission events and reports of poor recipient outcome from hepatitis B (HBV) and C (HCV) transmission, the PHS released a revised guideline. The 2013 Guideline added organ donor screening recommendations for HBV (hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and total antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc)) and HCV (antibody to hepatitis C (anti-HCV) and NAT), in addition to HIV, to reduce the risk of unintended transmission through transplantation.
“Sean did not have HIV, or any other STD’s for that matter,” Tom explains. “But because he was a gay man living in America in 2020 he was not allowed one of his final wishes of donating his organs to help save another person’s life.”
He continues, “The government would rather let people waiting for a transplant die than give them one of Seans organs. As his husband it makes me sick to my stomach and incredibly angry.”
My husband Sean was an organ donor. He believed that when he passed on if his organs could go to someone in need that it…
Posted by Sean Reinert on Monday, February 10, 2020
Related: FDA Decides You Shouldn’t Be Banned From Blood Donations For A Lifetime. Just A Year
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