In the 1980s Health Canada instated a new policy which banned any man who has ever had sex with another man since 1977 from donating blood for life. At the time, this logic went largely uncontested in light of the HIV/AIDS crisis.
However, in recent years the ban has come under fire for continuing homophobic stereotypes about gay men and treating heterosexuals with similar behaviours differently. Men who are bisexual, in monogamous relationships or have abstained from sex for years are not allowed to donate.
History
On September 28, 2009 Kyle Freeman`s trial against Canadian Blood Services (CBS) began. Freeman, a gay man and then York University student, donated blood multiple times by lying on the CBS questionnaire about his sexuality.
When Freeman anonymously posted online about doing so, CBS investigated, tracked his comments and sued him for intentionally violating policy. About a year later, the Ontario Superior Court ruled in favour of CBS, despite policies in other countries that impose effective one year bans against men who have sex with men. These are supported by the American Red Cross and American Blood Centres.
Testing
Currently Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec have rigorous screening that blood must undergo for various diseases. Every unit of blood is chemically tested for HIV, hepatitis B and C and other infections.
Homophobia
The blood ban not only judges gay men only for their identity, not their behaviour which can be low risk, but also plays into myths about HIV infection rates. In Canada, the populations with the highest HIV rate infection are injection drug users and heterosexuals. In December 2008, Health Canada created another policy, banning gay men from donating their organs.
Links
