A policy change years in the making, on Thursday Health Canada approved Canadian Blood Services’ submission to eliminate the three-month donor deferral period for gay and bisexual men as well as some other folks in the LGBTQ2S+ community.
Moving away from a blanket ban, the national blood donor organization will be able to screen all donors regardless of gender or sexuality. Instead, donors will be screened based on their sexual behaviors.
Canadian Blood Services is expected to introduce the new behaviour-based questionnaire approach by Sept. 30. It will apply to both blood and plasma donations.
The agency took longer than the aimed 90 days to complete their review of Canadian Blood Services’ submission to make this change, but Health Canada says their authorization “is based on a thorough assessment of evidence supporting the safety of the revised donor screening.”
“Today’s authorization is a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system nationwide, and builds on progress in scientific evidence made in recent years,” Health Canada said in a statement.
This is a breaking news story, more to come.