Challenge Fails Against Blood Donation Policy That Effectively Bans Gay Men

Gay rights groups are reacting angrily to a court decision that upholds the ban on men who have sex with men from giving blood.

In dismissing a constitutional challenge, an Ontario court ruled that Canadian Blood Services is not a government entity, so the charter does not apply to its policies.

Helen Kennedy of Egale Canada says the decision has negative consequences on charter rights.

In the decision, the judge did note that she appreciates the sense of injustice gay and bisexual men feel about the policy.

But the judge adds that the impact is not “in the same league” as a blood recipient being asked to accept lower safety standards.

Monique Doolittle-Romas, the executive director of the Canadian AIDS Society, says it’s “disturbing” that the court framed the case as a “contest” between safety and gay rights.

Canadian Blood Services had sued Kyle Freeman, a gay man who lied when giving blood, and the court has now found him liable for $10,000 for negligent misrepresentation.

Freeman, who had syphilis when he donated blood, had argued he lied because the policy wasn’t scientifically justified and violated his rights.

He launched a counterclaim under the charter, but in an Ontario Superior Court ruling released Thursday the judge dismissed it.

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