[Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

Sat Dec 17 02:45:41 UTC 2011

Hello Mike and everyone,

    Contact your news media the next time they run stories from local blood 
banks when they're crying out for donors. The South Texas Blood and Tissue 
Center holds drives at particular times of the year such as during the 
holiday season. My wife Mary who is also blind donates regularly when blood 
drives occur at her place of work. I used to give blood through the American 
Red cross in Massachusetts and in Austin Texas as well before I was put on 
seizure medication. Even the San Antonio lighthouse for the Blind holds 
periodic blood drives and many of their blind employees donate.

    These people beg the public to come in to donate blood and tissue. It 
seems to me like if they're inviting the public in to their place of 
business they should be covered by anty discrimination statutes but let the 
lawyers have the last word.

    Perhaps the next time those blood centers known to discriminate against 
blind donors hold a drive they should be picketed by our organization to 
expose the fact that healthy individuals willingly came in to donate despite 
their being blind and were turned away due to reasons having nothing to do 
with their ability to give blood. And isn't it sad that someone could die or 
could not receive a much-needed blood transfusion due to the discriminatory 
treatment willing blind donors suffered in the name of safety.

Peter Donahue

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Freeman" <k7uij at panix.com>
To: "'Blind Talk Mailing List'" <blindtlk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 1:12 PM
Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...

> AARRGG! Shades of the 1957 banquet speech, "The Cross of Blindness". I 
> have
> never given blood but checked the last time there was a blood drive at my
> place of employment and was told that there would be no problems even 
> though
> I am an insulin-dependent diabetic. Dr. Maurer should be informed of this
> and perhaps a resolution for Dallas is in order.
>
> Incidentally, I believe the good pastor is in error: I do not believe 
> there
> is a Federal antidiscrimination statute that applies in this instance 
> unless
> a blood drive can be classified as a place of public accommodation, 
> program
> or service. I hope I'm wrong.
>
> Mike
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:blindtlk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
> Behalf Of Steve Jacobson
> Sent: Friday, December 16, 2011 10:50 AM
> To: Blind Talk Mailing List
> Subject: Re: [Blindtlk] Polocies Against The Blind...
>
> I have given blood here in Minnesota through my employer to the red cross
> and I am finding it
> increasingly difficult to donate.  We have had other problems in the Twin
> Cities in the past that we
> tried to address, but I must say, not having an emergency exit policy is
> about the most blatent and
> least defensible thing I have heard.  Certainly you have a right to feel
> frustrated, but it does seem
> that there is work to be done as well.  I can't help but wonder what their
> general policy is to deal
> with someone who is half through giving blood and who might be dizzy if
> forced to stand in a hurry.  I
> would think that blindness would be the least of the problems that one 
> might
> have.  <smile>
>
> You might be interested to know that it is now common practice to not 
> permit
> someone you know to fill
> out the paperwork with you.  The justification is that you might not be
> honest with them in your
> answers.  This requires you to take the time of a staff person, and even 
> if
> they are willing, they are
> often required to tend to other tasks.
>
> Were you working with a branch of the Red Cross there in Duluth or is it
> another type of blood bank?
>
> Best regards,
>
> Steve Jacobson
>
> On Fri, 16 Dec 2011 12:22:35 -0600, James Kelm wrote:
>
>>Dear friends,
>
>>    Well an interesting thing happened to my wife and I last Friday, and I
>>thought that I'd see what you all thought.  It seemed to be a relevant
>>story, based upon the recent conversations here on this list.
>
>>    Wanting to do something good for our fellow human beings, my wife and 
>> I
>>decided that we would donate blood at one of our local blood banks.  We
>>arrived, filled out the necessary paper work, and waited in the waiting
> room
>>to do our duty.
>
>>    After a few minutes, a gentleman came out and requested that we follow
>>him to his office.  I am assuming that this gentleman was some kind of a
>>manager.  After entering his office, he politely informed us that he had
>>spoken to his corporate office, and learned that they currently had no
>>policy in place to assure my safety in the case of an emergency, so
>>unfortunately they did not allow blind people to donate blood.  He then
>>turned to my wife, who is sighted but like many middle-aged people, wears
>>reading glasses.  The gentleman went on to explain that unless my wife 
>>went
>>home to retrieve her reading glasses and thereby demonstrating that she 
>>was
>>not blind, they also would not allow her to donate.  I politely explained
>>that the corporate office should be aware that their company policy
> violated
>>Federal anti-discrimination laws, and they did not have the legal luxury 
>>of
>>determining which laws they were, or were not prepared to follow.  The
>>gentleman told me that he understood, but that he had to comply with his
>>corporate office's instructions to not allow the blind to donate blood.
>
>>    This situation came as a bit of surprise to me.  Of course most of us
>>blind folks are use to vague and concealed discrimination, but I was 
>>caught
>>off guard to face such an open and obvious demonstration of one's civil
>>rights being disregarded.  It was rather shocking to be directly told by a
>>business, that they did not want the blind!
>
>
>>Your Brother in Christ,
>>Pastor James Kelm
>>True Hope Church of Duluth
>>Web Site: www.thcduluth.org
>>Office E-mail: office at thcduluth.org
>>Phone: 218-727-4186
>
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>
>
>
>
>
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