Barton Lynch, a 24-year-old Virginia man, donated one of his kidneys to a random recipient to protest the U.S. ban on gay men giving blood.
The Washingtonian reports: ‘For years, Lynch regularly gave blood as a way to honor his father, who was diagnosed with cancer during Lynch’s freshman year of college. However, recently Lynch, who works for a consulting firm, started dating both men and women and per FDA policy, all men who have sex with other men cannot donate their blood unless they refrain from same-sex intimacy for a year.’
Lynch called his donation “philanthropic activism” and said he hopes his gift will raise awareness and inspire others to do the same.
As far as who got the kidney, Lynch said, “It goes into the other person the same day. I don’t know anything about the other person. I sent them a letter, and they can either read it or not, and reply or not. As far as I know, they have not done anything. But I did hear that it was a successful surgery. “
