Ban on blood donation for men who have sex with men may end: Health Canada – National | The Canadian News

Health Canada has given Canadian Blood Services the green light to lift specific restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men.

The federal regulator said in a press release thursday now authorized a request by Canadian Blood Services to lift restrictions around screening questions for men who have sex with men that barred them from donating blood for three months.

The move officially greenlights a policy change by the blood service that officials say is expected on September 30, 2022.

Instead, donors will be screened regardless of their gender or sexuality, for high-risk sexual behavior.

“Under the new screening approach, Canadian Blood Services will introduce a sexual behavior-based donor screening questionnaire that will be applied to all blood and plasma donors,” Health Canada said.

“Today’s authorization is an important milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system across the country and builds on the progress of scientific evidence made in recent years.”

Over the past decade, Health Canada said it has approved several changes to the donor deferral period for men who have sex with men, from a lifetime restriction of five years in 2013, to one year in 2016 and three months in 2019.

Under federal regulations, Canada’s two blood operators, Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec, must submit requests to Health Canada for any changes to their processes, such as changes to donor deferrals, the regulator said.

The changes, once implemented, will end men being asked during the pre-donation screening process if they have had sex with another man. Canadian Blood Services said in a statement.

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The new criteria will now ask all donors, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation, if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months.

“If they answer yes to either, they will be asked if they have had anal sex with any of these partners. If they have, they will need to wait three months from the last time they had anal sex to donate. If they haven’t and meet all the other eligibility criteria, they will be able to donate,” she said.

“Asking about anal sex in the context of new or multiple partners will allow us to more accurately and reliably identify those who may have a higher likelihood of a newly acquired transfusion-transmissible infection.”

Canadian Blood Services added that it will spend the next few months preparing to implement the new criteria, including system and process updates, as well as “robust training” for employees.

Héma-Québec, Canada’s blood operator in the province, told Global News that it is following a “two-step” approach to make donations more inclusive of men who have sex with men.

“The first step will be implemented next fall for plasma donations. It will then be expanded in the spring of 2023 for blood and platelet donations,” a spokesperson said.

“What will change in the fall of 2022: Héma-Québec will abandon the current three-month temporary deferral period for men who have had sex with men for plasma donations. Eligibility to donate plasma will be based on an individualized evaluation of risk behaviors, rather than on the person’s belonging to a group considered to be at risk.

In Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters the decision “was a long time coming.”

“It’s frustrating that it took so long,” he said.

“Hopefully implementation should be ready by the fall, but this is good news for all Canadians. Our blood supply will remain safe and we are ending a discriminatory blanket ban.”

Anthony Falls, 34, feels “fantastic” about the announcement.

“It’s about time,” he told Global News from Edmonton. “It still amazes me in 2022 that as a gay man I can’t actually donate blood.”

Tyler Watt, a registered nurse and Ontario Liberal Party candidate for horsemanship from Nepean, ON, has been fighting for years to lift the blood ban, he told Global News.

“HIV is not a gay disease, we know that,” he said. “Removing this part that was discriminatory towards men who have sex with men, gay and bisexual men, is a step in the right direction for LGBTQ2S+ people in this country.”

As a member of the LGBTQ2S+ community, Watt said she has wanted to donate blood for as long as she can remember.

“We have been fighting for so long to make this happen, to be treated like everyone else in this country,” he said. “We are part of this community and we know how important it is to help with our blood supplies.”