Dear campus community,

On Tuesday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Student Wellness Center (Room 122), San José State will be hosting a blood drive in collaboration with the American Red Cross.

What seems on its face like a straightforward, worthy event to support the wellness of our community takes on a greater significance in this case, as this will be the first blood drive at SJSU in 16 years. 

Back in 2008, then-University President Don Kassing made the difficult decision to suspend blood drives on the grounds that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s lifetime blood donor deferral, which singled out gay and bisexual men as being ineligible to donate, violated our campus non-discrimination policy. The decision, believed to be the first by a U.S. university, was made to forgo blood drives on campus rather than discriminate against or stigmatize members of our campus community based on their sexual orientation. 

At the time, President Kassing, campus leaders and student groups urged the FDA to modify its policy. President Kassing said in a message to campus: “Our policy is much more than a regulation. It is an expression of values we all share, most notably our core belief that people must be treated as individuals, free of prejudice.”

Now that the FDA has updated its policy to focus on individual risk factors when considering blood donation safety, there is no longer a discriminating component individuals might face when trying to donate blood. We are proud to be able to celebrate this milestone as a community by lifting the blood drive suspension and hosting a blood drive on campus next week.

Please join us in marking this important occasion by registering to donate here. You could save a life.

Sincerely,

Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson

President

(She/Her/Ella)