Canadian Blood Services to end blood ban for men who have sex with men

As Canadian Blood Services moves to end its policy that restricts men who have sex with men from donating blood for three months after being sexually active, an advocate who fought to change it says the new policy is still discriminatory. 

According to the new policy, which has been approved by Health Canada and first reported by The Canadian Press, all donors will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months, no matter their gender or sexual orientation.

Instead of being asked about gender or sexuality, potential donors will be screened on higher-risk sexual behaviour, such as anal sex. If the individual has had anal sex with those partners, then they will need to wait three months since that activity before donating blood.

Christopher Karas, who filed a human rights complaint against Health Canada to remove the deferral, says the policy still stigmatizes gay, bisexual men, and some transgender people.

"I want to be excited about this news. I really do. I think that this is in some way historic in that we're seeing the end of the deferral," he said in an interview with CBC News. 

"But I know that a lot of gay, bi men and trans people will still be barred by this policy, so I think it's a bit unfortunate that the government has decided this is the approach they want to take," said Karas. 

The new policy will be implemented no later than Sept. 30. The agency says asking about sexual behaviour, rather than sexual orientation, will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections such as HIV that can be transmitted through infusions.

It also says the shift comes after "countless hours" of work by LGBTQ and other groups, who have long advocated for a change in policy.

Karas notes there are no questions about vaginal sex in the questionnaire, even though it is one of the primary modes of HIV infection. 

"They won't be screening for vaginal sex, they won't be screening for condom use or any other risk behaviour that they should be screening for," he said. 

"What they're saying is that gay and bi men and transgender [people]... are engaging primarily in anal sex. They're stigmatizing us through this new policy. That's what they're saying with this new policy," said Karas. 

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Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, says the policy is based upon extensive domestic and international research. 

"The evidence is really clear that anal sex is still a significantly higher risk factor for transmission of diseases, such as HIV. Then it's vaginal sex or oral sex," Sher said.