Gay blood no good?

Canadian Blood Services not inclusive to minorities

By Chelsea Howard

Last week, the Muse ran a story about Canadian Blood Services crying out for more donations. This is quite a touchy subject given the controversy surrounding blood donations, specifically who’s actually able to donate blood and who’s been prohibited.

Any person of any gender is given the same exhaustive questionnaire when they set out to donate blood. The most intricate of Facebook surveys comes nowhere close to matching the personal nature of this questionnaire. Canadian Blood Services wants nothing left to the imagination, from where you went on vacation last year to whomever you got with while you were there.

Then there’s question 19. This particular query asks, if you’re male, if you’ve slept with another man since 1977. If you are a woman, the questions demands to know whether you’ve slept with a man who’s engaged in intercourse with another man since the same year. 32 years is a long time.

This past year, Kyle Freeman was sued by Canadian Blood Services for lying on the questionnaire. Kyle has had sex with another man. However, he saw the questionnaire as discriminatory and decided that he would offer his vital fluids for the good of society despite the alleged “risk” involved.

When Canadian Blood Services discovered that Freeman had lied, they took legal action. He responded by suing them back. He claims the questionnaire is in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, section 15. This is the section that prohibits sexual and racial discrimination by the Canadian government. Essentially, it is supposed to ensure that people of all racial backgrounds and sexual orientations are treated equally.

The issue boils down to an argument concerning the fact that, in the eyes of many, protecting the people receiving blood transfusions is stepping on the rights of those who wish to donate.

Kyle Freeman is HIV negative. He has given blood many times. The issue that Canadian Blood Services had was the fact that he put the blood supply in a potentially precarious situation. Although testing is infinitely more sophisticated now, there exists an infinitesimal chance that HIV can be “overlooked” in the testing process.

Personally, I believe that some fears can be condoned, but some are not justifiable. Yes, there is a history of “tainted blood” in Canada, and that’s probably causing some paranoia regarding certain higher risk groups. But, the fact that there exists a barrier of 32 years in the protocol is simply unnecessary.

The HIV virus can take effect as early as a few weeks after contracting it, and usually no later than six months. The only reasoning behind the “1977 policy” is that it is the year documented as showing the most rapid spread of HIV. Gay men are prohibited from donating blood for life. However, if a woman sleeps with a bisexual man, she is only put on “hold” for one year. These two groups display the exact same risk factors; however, one is banned for life, and one is just put on hiatus.

Canadian Blood Services prevents many minority groups from donating blood. If you have lived in certain parts of the UK, you may have mad cow. No dice there. If you have lived in parts of Africa prone to high HIV infection rates, you’re out. Even if you have had intravenous drugs, you are considered high risk, and unable to donate.

Canadian organizations have a responsibility. When it becomes necessary to infringe on the rights of a high-risk minority group, it is of the utmost importance that as few liberties as possible be taken with that infringement. In creating a barrier of 32 years, Canadian Blood Services is not upholding that responsibility.

Lorna Tessier, the director of public relations at Canadian Blood Services, in an interview with CBC this year, spoke about risk-benefit analysis, saying that providing the safest, most risk-free blood to patients was foremost in the minds of those at Canadian Blood Services.

This may be so, but continued talks with the Canadian AIDS Society are essential in trying to find a solution that will be more inclusive of minority groups wishing to give blood. In being so exclusive, Canadian Blood Services is alienating scads of willing (and healthy) donors. By limiting the scope of potential donors so rigidly, there’s an inherent hypocrisy to lamenting the shrinking supply of available blood.

Chelsea Howard

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