Healthy People Cannot Give Blood Essay -- Health

Everyone has seen the horror movie narrative time and time again. One person watches someone they love be put into a horrifying circumstance while being nothing but a helpless bystander, watching through a window or a television screen. Watching the bystander is almost as tragic as watching the victim, as the innate compulsion of a human to help others is relatable and recognizable to everyone. Unfortunately, there is a community in today’s world that is prevented from helping fellow humans in a simple act of charity some may take for granted: giving blood. Current United States policy bans homosexual men from being blood donors, regardless of testing and other standard procedures, such as testing blood for transmittable diseases and administering extensive questionnaires regarding risk factors of blood-borne illnesses (American Red Cross, 2012). This policy preventing men who have sex with other men (MSM) from donating blood should be modified, as advancements in technology h ave eliminated the high safety concern that once made the policy the best logical solution for safe blood transfusion (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2009). Policies restricting blood donors cover a wide range of potential issues with the blood supply. For the most part, these policies are very logical and give a greater piece of mind to those receiving blood; however, the policy regarding homosexual men is both outdated and illogical. As outlined on the United States Food and Drug Administration’s website (2009), no man who has had sex with another man since 1977, regardless of protective barriers or number of partners, may donate blood at any point after intercourse. Many people are unaware of this policy; it has not received attention in the... ...eller, A. J. (2010, December). No evidence of a significantly increased risk of transfusion-transmitted human immunodeficiency virus infection in Australia subsequent to implementing a 12-month deferral for men who have had sex with other men. Transfusion, 50(12), 2722-2730. doi:10.1111/j.1537-2995.2010.02793.x Thrasher, S. W. (2009). Blood, sex, and the FDA. Advocate, (1032), 50-53. The Constitution of the United States. Amendment 1. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, (2009). Blood donations from men who have sex with other men questions and answers. Retrieved from U.S. Food and Drug Administration website: http://www.fda.gov/biologicsbloodvaccines/bloodbloodproducts/questionsaboutblood/ucm108186.htm Waters, A. (2011). FROM THE HEART. Nursing Standard, 25(29), 24-25. (2012). In American Red Cross. Retrieved March 29, 2012, from http://www.redcross.org/

A Social Activity That Brings the Best or, and the Worst of an Individual

There are many social activities these days that tend to show us that part of a person's character that has remained hidden from public view for so long.Activities such as company picnics, sports festivals seem to do the trick. But none of those activities can beat one of the most popular social activities that always bring out the competitive streak in an individual. I am talking about a class reunion.A class reunion is a social activity wherein classmates and friends from past eras get together years later and try to catch up on each other's lives and activities. During a class reunion, it seems that people have permission to revert to their old ways while in high school or college.It is a social situation where old wounds are reopened but not necessarily healed by time or apologies. It is an event where people gossip about who is was voted the most successful and yet seems to be the biggest failure in life. It is a time for life comparisons and reflection. None of which helps a pe rson's self esteem or sense of importance about life and other things.Class reunions are supposed to be a time of reminiscing and healing. Instead, it serves as a reminder to others regarding how they have not achieved the peak of success in their lives, or failed to achieve that which they bragged about in high school or college.It brings out the worst in an individual because of the way the person is treated for not being able to achieve his classmates ideal of him. It can also be a social activity that brings out the best in an individual when he can brag about his successes in life and hold his classmates in his own personal court where he feels he can help those whom he deems as less fortunate than he is.Think about. Ask your parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, I am sure they will more than willing to tell you about the horror story that their class reunion turned out to be.That is because after the pleasantries are exchanged, all that is left is to try to find the failure s of each other. Just like when they were in regular school. Let's face it, class reunions are their passport to acting like their immature counterparts in high school even if only for one night. Â  

HMS Queen Mary at the Battle of Jutland

HMS Queen Mary was a British battlecruiser that entered service in 1913. The last battlecruiser completed for the Royal Navy prior to World War I, it saw action during the early engagements of the conflict. Sailing with the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, Queen Mary was lost at the Battle of Jutland in May 1916. HMS Queen Mary Nation:  Great BritainType:  BattlecruiserShipyard:  Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron CompanyLaid Down:  March 6, 1911Launched:  March 20, 1912Commissioned:  September 4, 1913Fate:  Sunk at the Battle of Jutland, May 31, 1916 Specifications Displacement:  27,200 tonsLength:  703 ft., 6 in.Beam:  89 ft., 0.5 in.Draft:  32 ft., 4 in.Propulsion:  Parsons direct-drive steam turbines, 42 Yarrow boilers, 4 x propellersSpeed:  28 knotsRange:  6,460 miles at 10 knotsComplement:  1,275 men Armament 4 Ãâ€" 2: BL 13.5-inch Mk V guns16 Ãâ€" 1: BL 4-inch Mk VII guns2 Ãâ€" 1: 21-inch Mk II submerged torpedo tubes Background On October 21, 1904, Admiral John Jackie Fisher became First Sea Lord at the behest of King Edward VII. Tasked with reducing expenditures and modernizing the Royal Navy, he also began advocating for all big gun battleships. Moving forward with this initiative, Fisher had the revolutionary HMS Dreadnought built two years later. Featuring ten 12-in. guns, Dreadnought instantly made all existing battleships obsolete. Fisher next desired to support this class of battleship with a new type of cruiser that sacrificed armor for speed. Dubbed battlecruisers, the first of this new class, HMS Invincible, was laid down in April 1906. It was Fishers vision that battlecruisers would conduct reconnaissance, support the battle fleet, protect commerce, and pursue a defeated enemy. Over the next eight years, several battlecruisers were constructed by both the Royal Navy and the German Kaiserliche Marine. Design Ordered as part of the 1910–11 Naval Program along with four King George V-class battleships, HMS Queen Mary was to be the sole ship of its class. A follow-on to the earlier Lion-class, the new ship featured an altered interior arrangement, a redistribution of its secondary armament, and a longer hull than its predecessors. Armed with eight 13.5 in. guns in four twin turrets, the battlecruiser also carried sixteen 4 in. guns mounted in casemates. The ships armament received direction from an experimental fire-control system designed by Arthur Pollen. Queen Marys armor scheme varied little from the Lions and was thickest amidships. At the waterline, between B and X turrets, the ship was protected by 9 Krupp cemented armor.  This thinned moving towards the bow and stern. An upper belt of reached a thickness of 6 over the same length. Armor for the turrets consisted of 9 on the front and sides and varied from 2.5 to 3.25 on the roofs. The battlecruisers conning tower was protected by 10 on the sides and 3 on the roof. Additionally, Queen Marys armored citadel was closed off by 4 transverse bulkheads. Power for the new design came from two paired sets of Parsons direct-drive turbines which turned four propellers. While the outboard propellers were turned by high-pressure turbines, the inner propellers were turned by low-pressure turbines. In a change from other British ships since Dreadnought, which had positioned the officers quarters near their action stations amidships, Queen Mary saw them returned to their traditional location in the stern. As a result, it was it the first British battlecruiser to possess a stern walk. Construction Laid down on March 6, 1911, at Palmer Shipbuilding and Iron Company in Jarrow, the new battlecruiser was named for King George Vs wife, Mary of Teck. Work progressed over the next year and Queen Mary slid down the ways on March 20, 1912, with Lady Alexandrina Vane-Tempest serving as the Queens representative. Initial work on the battlecruiser ended in May 1913 and sea trials were conducted through June. Though Queen Mary utilized more powerful turbines than earlier battlecruisers, it only barely exceeded its design speed of 28 knots. Returning to the yard for final alterations, Queen Mary came under the command of Captain Reginald Hall. With the completion of the ship, it entered commission on September 4, 1913. World War I Assigned to Vice Admiral David Beattys 1st Battlecruiser Squadron, Queen Mary commenced operations in the North Sea. The following spring saw the battlecruiser make a port call at Brest before a voyage to Russia in June. In August, with Britains entry into World War I, Queen Mary and its consorts prepared for combat. On August 28, 1914, the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron sortied in support of a raid on the German coast by British light cruisers and destroyers. In the early fighting during the Battle of Heligoland Bight, British forces had difficulty disengaging and the light cruiser HMS Arethusa was crippled. Under fire from the light cruisers SMS Strassburg and SMS Cà ¶ln, it called for aid from Beatty. Steaming to the rescue, his battlecruisers, including Queen Mary, sank Cà ¶ln and the light cruiser SMS Ariadne before covering the British withdrawal. Refit That December, Queen Mary took part in Beattys attempt to ambush German naval forces as they conducted a raid on Scarborough, Hartlepool, and Whitby. In a confusing series of events, Beatty failed to bring the Germans to battle and they successfully escaped back the Jade Estuary. Withdrawn in December 1915, Queen Mary received a new fire control system before entering the yard for a refit the following month. As a result, it was not with Beatty for the Battle of Dogger Bank on January 24. Returning to duty in February, Queen Mary continued to operate with the 1st Battlecruiser Squadron through 1915 and into 1916. In May, British naval intelligence learned that the German High Seas Fleet had left port. Loss at Jutland Steaming in advance of Admiral Sir John Jellicoes Grand Fleet, Beattys battlecruisers, supported by the battleships of the 5th Battle Squadron, collided with Vice Admiral Franz Hippers battlecruisers in the opening phases of the Battle of Jutland. Engaging at 3:48 PM on May 31, the German fire proved accurate from the outset. At 3:50 PM, Queen Mary opened fire on SMS Seydlitz with its forward turrets. As Beatty closed the range, Queen Mary scored two hits on its opponent and disabled one of Seydlitzs aft turrets. Around 4:15, HMS Lion came under intense fire from Hippers ships. The smoke from this obscured HMS Princess Royal forcing SMS Derfflinger to shift its fire to Queen Mary. As this new enemy engaged, the British ship continued to trade hits with Seydlitz. At 4:26 PM, a shell from Derfflinger struck Queen Mary detonating one or both of its forward magazines. The resulting explosion broke the battlecruiser in half near its foremast. A second shell from Derfflinger may have hit further aft. As the after part of the ship began to roll, it was rocked by a ​large explosion before sinking. Of Queen Marys crew, 1,266 were lost while only twenty were rescued. Though Jutland resulted in a strategic victory for the British, it saw two battlecruisers, HMS Indefatigable and Queen Mary, lost with nearly all hands. An investigation into the losses led to changes in ammunition handling aboard British ships as the report showed that cordite handling practices may have contributed to the loss of the two battlecruisers.