Canadian Blood Services to ask Health Canada to remove controversial 3-month blood ban
The long-awaited removal of the three-month ban for men who have sex with men donating blood has doctors weighing in after a tweet by Canadian Blood Services.
Kristopher Wells, associate professor and Canada research chair for public understanding of sexual and gender minority youth at MacEwan University, said removing the three-month waiting period is long overdue.
“It certainly follows on what the federal government had previously announced that by the end of this year, the blood ban preventing gay and transgender individuals from donating should be lifted,” said Dr. Wells.
“This has been a promise of the federal government for quite some time, and frankly it is about time that it has come to fruition,” he added.
The three-month deferral period applies to the LGBTQ2S+ community.
• Canadian Blood Services aiming to make submission in 2021 to remove blood ban
• Health Canada ‘required’ 2-year wait between blood ban policy changes: documents
“It has been discriminatory – there is no other way to describe it. To single out gay men or men who have sex with men to prevent them from donating blood because of outdated stereotypes and misinformation. It perpetuates a lot of harm and stigmatization,” said the doctor.
Wells says that many other countries have moved forward to behaviour-based screening.
“This is the direction Canada should have been moving many years ago. Canadian Blood Services has been slow and has placed many obstacles and barriers ahead of this important change,” he said.
For the doctor, he says it is difficult for some to understand the reason behind the slow-moving change to allow gay who have sex with men to donate blood.
“All blood is screened in Canada regardless. The blood supply system is incredibly safe.”
While Canada had an opportunity to show leadership and be at the forefront of change, Wells says the country is now “playing catch-up."
During a time when Canada is dealing with blood shortages, the change should be a priority, he argued.
“There is no reason why this ban can’t be lifted right now,” said Dr. Wells.
“Same sex marriage has been legalized in Canada for more than 15 years -- back in 2005. We still are seeing barriers and discrimination in other parts of Canadian society. The blood ban is one primary example. It continues to perpetuate this myth that that gay men are somehow more sexually promiscuous than heterosexual individuals,” he said.
In a statement, Annie Génier, a senior media relations advisor for Health Canada said: “Health Canada remains open to reviewing further changes to the MSM donor deferral policy, including its elimination provided that submission contains scientific evidence that demonstrates that such a change would not introduce unacceptable risks to Canada’s blood system.”
LIBERAL GOVERNMENT'S PROMISE TO END BLOOD BAN
With a federal election looming, the pressure to remove the three-month ban is growing.
“What happened to the Liberal government’s promise? This was one of the cornerstone announcements in previous federal election campaigns and it was never delivered,” said Dr. Wells.
“Every political party in Canada – even the Conservative Party now supports removing these discriminatory restrictions and that all people should be able to donate blood regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” he added.
Correction
A previous version of this story stated Canadian Blood Services had posted and deleted the tweet. The tweet was not deleted and is now embedded in the story. CTV News Edmonton apologizes for the error.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Trudeau promises $1B in loans for child-care providers to expand care centres
The federal government is launching a new loan program to help child-care providers in Canada expand their spaces, and will be extending further student loan forgiveness and training options for early childhood educators, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
Spring allergy season has begun. Where is it worse in Canada?
The spring allergy season has started early in many parts of Canada, with high levels of pollen in some cities already. Experts weigh in on which areas have it worse so far this season.
'Nonsense:' Doug Ford slams lawsuits filed by Ontario school boards against social media platforms
Premier Doug Ford says that lawsuits launched by four Ontario school boards against a trio of social media platforms are “nonsense” and risk becoming a distraction to the work that really matters.
Several flight attendants from Pakistan have gone missing after landing in Canada
Multiple flight attendants from Pakistan International Airlines have abandoned their jobs and are believed to have sought asylum in Canada in the past year and a half, a spokesperson for the government-owned airline says.
N.B. man wins $64 million from Lotto 6/49
A New Brunswicker will go to bed Thursday night much richer than he was Wednesday after collecting on a winning lottery ticket he let sit on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year.
Multiple bridges in Calgary shut down for police incident
Calgary police have shut down a number of bridges into and out of the downtown core as officers deal with a distraught individual.
King Charles calls for acts of friendship in first public remarks since Kate's cancer diagnosis
King Charles III gave public remarks for Maundy Thursday, addressing the importance of acts of friendship, following his and Catherine, Princess of Wales’ cancer diagnoses.
Fallen crypto mogul Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison
Crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried was sentenced Thursday to 25 years in prison for a massive fraud that unravelled with the collapse of FTX, once one of the world's most popular platforms for exchanging digital currency.
A dog and a bird formed an unlikely friendship. Their separation has infuriated followers
Peggy is a stout and muscular Staffordshire bull terrier, and Molly is a magpie, an Australian bird best known for swooping on humans during breeding season, not for befriending dogs. But in an emotional video posted online, Peggy’s owners announced that the animals had been separated.