A wealth of observational data supports the commonly held view that damped Lyman-α (Lyα) absorption in QSO spectra is associated with neutral-hydrogen (HI) disks in spiral galaxies. Most of the HI probed by QSO absorption lines is traced by damped Lyα lines because of their high column densities, N > 1020 cm–2. The spiral galaxies hosting the HI disks can act as gravitational lenses on the QSOs. If the HI column density increases towards the center of the disks, as suggested by observations of local galaxies, the magnification bias preferentially selects for high column-density systems. The estimates of HI in damped Lyα systems can then systematically be distorted by gravitational lensing.