April 29 (UPI) — Canadian health officials have lifted restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood after years of LGBTQ and advocacy groups accusing the federal health department of discrimination.
Canada Health announced Thursday that it has lifted the current ban on men donating blood if they have had sex with another man in the past three months.
Instead, Canadian Blood Services, a nonprofit charity that provides blood to Canadian health care systems, will screen all donors, regardless of gender of sexuality, for high-risk sexual behavior through a questionnaire. donor screening.
“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 in recent years,” he said. a declaration.
The health body made the change at the request of Canadian Blood Services, which has been advocating for the change for more than a decade.
According to the charity, male donors will no longer be asked if they have had sex with another man, and will instead all be screened based on their sexual history.
The new system, which goes into effect on September 30, will ask the potential donor if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months. If he answers yes to any of the questions, he will be asked if she has had anal sex with any of her partners, to which an affirmative answer would result in that person having to wait at least three more months to donate blood. .
The reason for focusing on anal sex is due to the significantly higher probability of HIV transmission per act of sex performed compared to vaginal or oral sex, he 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 newly acquired transfusion-transmissible infection,” Blood Canada Services said in a declaration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters during a press conference Thursday that lifting the restriction “would be a long time coming.”
He called the current approach discriminatory, wrong and should have been done away with years ago.
The Liberal leader said he was elected in 2015 on a commitment to ending discriminatory practice, but was told more research was needed.
In response, his government spent more than $3.9 million to produce studies to ensure the safety of the blood supply, he said.
“This is good news for all Canadians,” he said. “Our blood supply will remain safe and we are removing a discriminatory blanket ban.”
Egale Canada, Canada’s leading LGBTQ organization, said they “definitely welcome” the decision.
“Finally!” cheered via Twitter. “Since a long time!”
Canada has excluded men who have sex with men from donating blood since 1977 to prevent HIV from contaminating the blood supply. Then in 1992, when blood products were regulated, that ban was enacted, according to Canadian Blood Services’ website.
Reference-www.upi.com