Lifetime ban on gay blood donors should be lifted: activist

A gay rights activist hopes Canada will change its lifetime ban on gay blood donors after Britain lifted its own such ban recently.

“It says you’re less worthy than other people. It says you’re all presumed to be disease carriers and we’re not worthy to help other people in our society,” activist and lawyer Doug Elliott told CityNews. “It’s really quite offensive. If it had some scientific basis, I could accept it. But it’s completely unscientific.”

Elliott said the rule is so outdated, and many gay men he knows donate anyway.

“I know a lot of people, well-informed people, people in the medical field, who give blood anyway and they just ignore the question….I think if you asked the average person on the street ‘Would you tell a lie to save a life?’ the answer would be yes.”

Just last month, Britain announced it was changing its policy on gay blood donation. Gay men in that country who haven’t had sex with other gay men for at least 12 months would be eligible to give blood.

Canada could be closer to adopting a similar rule. A spokeman for the Canadian Blood Services said that its board wants to change its policy to one where men who haven’t had sex with other men for five to 10 years would be allowed to donate blood.

“We’ll be going to our regulator Health Canada with that proposal in the spring of next year,” said Ron Vezina.

Vezina said the change is based on science and epidemiology, not homophobia.
 
But Elliott said this simply isn’t enough.

“You’re either HIV positive or you’re not. The fact that you’re gay has nothing to do with it. It’s the behaviour that you engage in.”

With files from Avery Haines

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