Rohn Neugebauer, 48, recently died of a heart attack in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Neugebauer’s partner Dan Burda has recently hosted a fundraiser for CORE (Center for Organ Recovery and Education). Thus, when Neugebauer passed away, his family sought to fulfill his wishes to become an organ donor. However, when it was revealed the Negebauer was in a committed same sex relationship, his family was told that he was not a candidate for organ donation.
The decision rests on a CDC guideline that states that men who have slept with men in the past five years pose a significant risk to others health and “should not donate their organs.” This is regardless of the overall health or HIV status of the individuals in question.
A Change.org petition has been started to ask CORE to reverse this clearly discriminatory policy. It can be found here.