The mother of a teenager who died due to an apparent suicide has come forward protesting the way that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rejected her son's eye donations after his death in 2013. Sheryl Moore said that, although the Agency had transplanted her son's organs, including his lungs, heart, liver, and kidneys, they did not approve of her son's eyes. Authorities have explained that the eyes, unlike the organs, are classified as a tissue donation and are governed by different rules for donation.
Alexander Bett, or AJ, committed suicide on July 2013 when he was only 16 years old. A year and a half before that, he came out as gay and Moore said that that was when the teen began to be bullied. Shortly before the unfortunate incident, Bett became an organ donor.
Now, over a year after his death, Moore has received word that her son's organs were finally helping other people. A 14-year old boy was the recipient of his heart, while his lungs, liver, and kidneys have all been donated as well. Moore took notice her son's eyes were rejected for donation. When confronted about it, the FDA told Moore that they could not accept the teen's tissue donation and give them to a recipient because he was gay.
"It's archaic, and it's just silly that people don't get that life-saving assistance they need because of regulations that are 30-years old," Moore told local news station, KCCI.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has answered the allegations, saying that they typically do not accept tissue donations from men who have had sexual relations with other men to avoid an increased risk of transmitting communicable diseases such as HIV. The eyes are classified as "tissues" not organs, and are covered by a different set of rules for donation. The FDA allows gay men to donate organs, but recipients are warned beforehand of the potential risks. However, gay men are also banned for life from donating tissues, including blood.