Canada Set to End Blood Donation Ban For Men Who Have Sex With Men
Reuters reports.Instead, the department will now screen all potential donors —regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity — for what it calls “high-risk sexual behaviors.” The new regulations would prohibit anyone who has had anal sex with a new sexual partner from donating for three months.The changes are planned to be put in place by September 30.“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, the news agency reports.Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau welcomed the change, saying “it’s been a long time coming.”"The current approach was discriminatory and wrong.
This is a significant milestone for moving forward on both the safety of our blood supply, but also, non-discriminatory blood practices," Trudeau said, the CBC reports.
The policy has been targeted by advocates who have called it discriminatory toward queer men. It evolved over the years. There was a complete ban on donations from men who have sex with men starting in the 1980s.
It decreased to three months in 2019."This should've been done 10 years ago, 15 years ago," Trudeau said. "But the research, science, investment to be able to ensure that our blood supply continues to be safe, based on data, based on research, simply wasn't done by any previous government."It was created, like the policies in the U.S., due to fear that men who have sex with men have a higher rate of HIV transmission.
