Canadian Blood Services (CBS), the organization that manages Canada’s entire blood supply outside of Quebec, announced May 22 it had dropped its longstanding ban against blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM).
Instead, the ban was reduced to only exclude men who have engaged in “MSM activity” in the past five years from donating.
This modification to CBS’ blood donor guidelines may appear as a victory for gay rights in Canada. But on a practical level, it does little to equalize homosexual and bisexual men in the blood donating process, as one must remain celibate over this unrealistic length of time in order to qualify.
No matter how you look at this policy, it is still discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
Some might argue this discrimination was once justified. When reports of HIV first began in 1985, MSM accounted for 80 per cent of all HIV cases, according to Health Canada.
But as of 2011, the agency reports that just 48.6 per cent of cases in which an adult tested positive for HIV could be attributed to MSM. It is time for a policy that better reflects these vastly reduced rates.
Every blood donation given at a CBS clinic is tested for the AIDS virus, hepatitis viruses B and C, syphilis and other STIs. These tests, which occur prior to a blood transfusion, serve as another adequate reason that such discrimination against men who have sex with men is no longer necessary or justified.
While CBS’ announcement is a small step in the right direction, discrimination is still discrimination.
