Men who have sex with men can now donate blood if they have not had sex with a man in the last five years, the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) announced May 22.
Previously, men who had sex with men were banned for life from donating blood.
The change will be implemented this summer.
“We recognize that many people will feel that this change does not go far enough, but given the history of the blood system in Canada, we see this as a first and prudent step forward on this policy,” said Dana Devine, CBS vice-president (medical, scientific and research affairs) in a press release.
“It’s the right thing to do and we are committed to regular review of this policy as additional data emerge and new technologies are implemented.”
Until now, blood donor screening has asked potential male donors if they have had sex with another man “even once, since 1977.”
If they answered yes, they were not allowed to donate blood.
Potential male donors will now be asked if they have had sex with another man in the past five years.
The Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) has a policy that does not allow CBS to use CUSA spaces, citing “homophobic/gender-exclusive screening policies.”
CUSA vice-president (student issues) Gina Parker has been involved with campaigns that CBS co-ordinates at Carleton, and tabled a failed motion in July 2012 to end CUSA’s ban when she served as a councillor.
Parker said she felt hurt that CUSA would not advertise for blood drives on campus, nor support past events such as “Get Swabbed!,” a CBS initiative designed to recruit potential stem cell donors.
Parker said a five-year deferral is not enough.
“It is my hope that [CBS] . . . will move towards a one year deferral for men who have sex with men,” Parker said.
“This time-deferral would align with most countries worldwide,” she said.
Erica Butler, Carleton’s Gender & Sexuality Resource Centre program co-ordinator, called CBS’ policy change “a tiny measure of progress.”
“I don’t think that it actually does anything to reduce the stigma around homosexuality in the context of blood donation,” Butler said.
“It’s still basically continuing the idea that that group of people is somehow more at-risk, despite the fact that they could be practicing safer sex in the same way that any other people participating in sexual activity would be.”
She said that a five year ban effectively eliminates the majority of the gay population from donating.
Adam Awad, National chairperson with the CFS, agreed that the CBS policy should look at sexual behaviour, not sexual orientation.
“Essentially what it says is, if you are a gay man [who wants to donate blood], you have to be celibate for five years. Or you can choose to have sex with as many women as you want in that time and that’s totally fine,” Awad said.
He also added that men who have sex with men are put in the same category whether they use protection or not.
Awad said the rationale for the ban is outdated.
“A lot of it had to do with the AIDS crisis in the 1980s and people not knowing a lot about it. The reality though is that the technology used to identify and test for HIV has changed dramatically in the last 20 years,” he said.
“Some people might argue that this type of ban was needed 20 years ago but you would be hard pressed to find anyone who could actually back it up with scientific evidence now to say the same thing.”
