Donation of eye or cornea transplant (graft, keratoplasty) in donor hand concept photo. Word donor with letter O as symbol of that donation near stethoscope and eye model with cornea lying in hand Photo: Shutterstock
Alexander “AJ” Betts Jr. loved showtunes and helping people, according to his mother, Sheryl J. Moore. When AJ was bullied at school for his sexuality, his mother told him to ignore the bigots.
“The kids in show choir had told him he’s going to hell for being gay, and he might as well just kill himself to save himself the time,” Moore said. In July 2013, AJ died by suicide. When AJ got his driver’s license he was excited to be an organ donor, and most of his organs were donated, prolonging the life of seven people.
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However, AJ’s eyes could not be donated because AJ was gay. As Moore answered questions from the Iowa Donor Network, one of them inquired about AJ’s sexuality.
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“I remember very vividly saying to them, ‘Well, what do you mean by, “Was he gay?” I mean, he’s never had penetrative sex,’” she said, “But they said, ‘We just need to know if he was gay.’ And I said, ‘Yes, he identified as gay.’”
This made his eyes ineligible for donation. “I felt like they wasted my son’s body parts,” Moore said. “I very much felt like AJ was continuing to be bullied beyond the grave.”
While the FDA softened restrictions on who can donate blood and organs in 2020 and 2023, making it so men who have sex with other men can donate blood and organs, their restrictions on tissue donation remain in place. This prevents queer men from donating their tissue.
Donated tissue could mean anything from a person’s eyes to their skin and ligaments. Advocacy groups and lawmakers say these barriers should be removed, especially for cornea donations. One of their asks is that the FDA reduce the deferral period from five years to 90 days, so that a man who has had sex with another man would be able to donate tissue as long as such sex didn’t occur within three months of his death.
Moore and Dr. Michael Puente Jr. started a campaign called “Legalize Gay Eyes” which garnered the attention of national eye groups and lawmakers.
“A gay man can donate their entire heart for transplant, but they cannot donate just the heart valve,” said Puente. “It’s essentially a categorical ban.”
The ban started as a result of the AIDS epidemic as a way to slow HIV transmission. Now, with medical and scientific advancements, the bans are simply discriminatory and prevent tissue donations from occurring.
Dr. Puente says that unless gay men are celibate for five years before their death, they cannot donate their eyes. The research he undertook in Canada found that 360 men were rejected as cornea donors because they were gay or bisexual or because they had sexual relations with another man in the past five years.
The Iowa Donor Network cannot comment on specific cases. But they seem to agree with Moore and Dr. Puente.
“We sincerely hope for a shift in FDA policy to align with the more inclusive approach seen in blood donation guidelines, enabling us to honor the decision of all individuals who want to save lives through organ and tissue donation,” the organization said in a statement.
Editor’s note: If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. The Trans Lifeline (1-877-565-8860) is staffed by trans people and will not contact law enforcement. The Trevor Project provides a safe, judgement-free place to talk for youth via chat, text (678-678), or phone (1-866-488-7386). Help is available at all three resources in English and Spanish.
