Washington Blade - March 15, 2002

ALAMEDA, Calif. -- Clinics like the gay Rainbow Flag Health Services & Sperm Bank are still fighting against a three-year-old proposal by the federal government to regulate sperm donations by gay men, with critics of regulation saying that proponents are guilty of anti-gay discrimination, according to a report on HealthScoutNews.com. "They're trying to regulate an industry that doesn't need regulation. There is no scientific reason to bar gay men," says Leland Traiman, executive director of the Rainbow Flag clinic. But supporters of legal guidelines on gay male donors say they would reduce the risk of transmitting AIDS to women and their children. Regulations could include banning any clinic-facilitated donation by a gay man, or could be restricted to donations where the recipient does not know the donor. The FDA, which is examining the issue, expects to make a final decision by 2003, according to FDA spokeswoman Lenore Gelb.

Bush may overlook AIDS researcher for top health post

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Despite Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's backing of a prominent AIDS researcher for the post, President Bush expects to nominate Elias Zerhouni, executive vice dean of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, to lead the National Institutes of Health, an administration official said last week. Thompson had been pushing for months to appoint well-respected AIDS researcher Anthony Fauci to lead NIH, but the White House would not sign off on him. Fauci, 61, is a scientist and administrator who has been director of the National Institute for Allergy & Infectious Diseases since 1984. But a dispute over the scope of his job, combined with opposition from anti-abortion forces, scuttled his chances. The top post at NIH, the nation's premier biomedical research agency, has been vacant for more than two years. While Thompson declined to confirm the name of the individual to be named to the post, an administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said Zerhouni was the leading candidate, although he cautioned that a final decision has not been made.

Disease linked to anal cancer in gay men at high rates

SAN DIEGO -- Researchers at a conference on sexually transmitted diseases unveiled results of a study indicating that 38 percent of gay men may be infected with human papillomavirus (HPV), an incurable disease that is linked to anal and penile cancers, especially among HIV-positive men, according to a report on Gay.com. The study, conducted by Centers for Disease Control & Prevention researchers, examined medical records of 83 men between 1988 and 1994 who were gay or bisexual. Of those studied, 38 percent carried HPV type 16, a viral strain linked to half of all cervical cancer cases in women. "This rate (in gay men) is nearly five times that of heterosexual men and twice that of women," said Dr. Stuart Berman of the CDC's Division of STD Prevention. A second study of 349 gay and straight men showed that 32 percent carried HPV, with a lower rate of infection among respondents who were sexually monogamous, did not practice anal intercourse, or consistently used condoms.

Mass. AIDS activist dies after liver transplant

BOSTON (AP) -- An HIV-infected woman who raised money for a new liver for herself after her insurance company refused to pay for the procedure died Tuesday following two unsuccessful transplants. Belynda Dunn, a 51-year-old AIDS activist, died at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Dunn underwent a transplant procedure March 5, but the liver did not function and was removed, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Rossi said. She received another transplant on Friday. That liver also did not function properly, and led to a multi-system organ failure, Rossi said. Dunn never regained consciousness from either transplant, Rossi said. The transplant followed a successful procedure performed on prominent AIDS activist and author Larry Kramer in December.

Stalwart AIDS group struggles for direction

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- The movement known as ACT UP, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power, draped a 35-foot condom over Republican Sen. Jesse Helms' house, scattered the ashes of AIDS victims on the White House lawn and tossed a coffin in front of a San Francisco hospital after an AIDS patient was denied a liver transplant. But now, former members say some of the dozen remaining chapters are too politically correct to be effective, while chapters in San Francisco and Toronto have been hijacked by renegades who promote conspiracy theories and use criminal tactics to silence the very people ACT UP's founders fought to save. In San Francisco, activists Michael Petrelis and David Pasquarelli have been faced with several restraining orders and recently spent some time in jail over alleged violations of those orders. Public health officials credit ACT UP with creating the political pressure that prompted increased research funding and faster drug approval. But, eventually, even their boldest protests failed to draw the media, and chapters that once brought 700 people to a protest dwindled to a few.

-- STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

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