OTAWA – Health Canada has ended a policy banning men who have sex with men from donating blood products for three months, a change that was welcomed by LGBTQ supporters but criticized – including by the prime minister, who promised years ago to terminate it – as it is too late.
“It’s been a long time,” Prime Minister Justin Trinto said in Ottawa on Thursday.
“The current approach has been biased and misguided, and this is an important milestone in moving forward with both blood supply security and non-discriminatory practices.”
Canadian Blood Services had asked Health Canada to allow it to cancel questions about gender or sexuality when testing potential donors and to ask for higher-risk sexual behavior.
By the end of September, potential donors will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the past three months, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
If so, then they will be asked if they had anal sex with any of these partners.  If they have, they will have to wait three months for this activity before donating blood.
The FBI said focusing on sexual behavior, not orientation, would allow her to more reliably assess the risk of infections, such as HIV, which can be transmitted through transfusions.
It also asks potential donors if they have tattoos or have been involved in intravenous drug use as a way to prevent the transmission of diseases, including HIV, through transfusions.
“After all!”  Egale Canada wrote on Twitter.
“We strongly welcome today’s decision by Health Canada to authorize Canadian Blood Services to end a discriminatory blood and plasma donation ban aimed at gay, bisexual and queer men, trans women and other men who have sex with men.  It’s too late! “
A lifetime ban was enacted in 1992 as part of the aftermath of the Contaminated Blood Scandal in the 1980s. It was then that thousands of Canadians were exposed to HIV and hepatitis after receiving contaminated blood products.  In 2013 it was reduced to five years.
The Liberals have vowed to end the ban on men who have sex with men donating blood during the 2015 election campaign that brought the Trinto government to power.
The postponement period was reduced to one year in 2016 and then to three months in 2019. The Liberals promised in the 2019 and 2021 elections to eliminate it completely.
Trinto said Thursday that politics should have ended at least a decade ago.  He said his government had invested $ 5 million to investigate the safety aspects of changing blood donation rules, and many scientific reports have shown that “blood supply will continue to be safe.”
Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who shared that his first partner died of AIDS 30 years ago, said on Thursday that the change in donation rules now meant “my blood is as good as anyone in this room” .  He called it a step forward in human rights and “ending the stigma”.
Catherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for Canadian Blood Services, said the agency knew it needed to re-establish links with LGBTQ communities because of the policy.
“This change in criteria is science-informed and will allow us to be more inclusive about who can donate while, as always, ensuring safe, adequate blood and plasma supplies for patients in Canada,” he said.
“This change is an important step, but we know we still have a lot of work to do to build trust and repair relationships with the LGBTQ communities and we are committed to doing so.”
Ontario lawmaker Eric Duncan, the first openly gay man to be elected Conservative, said “discrimination like this should not be long in coming.”
“Finally, after multiple delays, Canada is one step closer to ending the country ‘s long – standing and discriminatory blood ban,” Duncan said.  “After years of delay, we are at least five months away from the entry into force of this change.”
NDP MPs Randall Garrison and Blake Desjarlais, who are critics of LGBTQ rights, said in a joint statement that “finally allowing men who have sex with men to donate blood is a belated victory for men who do. sex with men, members of the community.  and allies who worked tirelessly for years to pressure the government to act. “
Dr.  Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, acknowledged in a statement that some donors may be offended when asked about their sexual partners and whether they had anal sex.
However, he said that all donors, regardless of their sexual orientation, will be asked the same questions about “high-risk sexual behavior”, not just men who have sex with men.
He said the questions were justified because “anal sex is a significantly higher risk factor” for HIV.
Sher said the agency follows an evidence-based approach to change based on research in Canada and around the world, including epidemiological studies and statistical modeling.
He said the approach was very similar to that adopted in the UK.
Sir said the risk of contracting a blood donation disease is “extremely, extremely low” and there are many levels of control, including HIV, as well as blood purification before using the samples.
He said the change in screening questions would lead to “no measurable increase in the risk” of HIV transmission.
Health Canada said it had convened a team of scientific and medical experts on blood safety to update its decision on the Federal Blood Service request.
“Today’s approval is an important milestone for a more comprehensive blood donation system across the country and is based on the progress of scientific data in recent years,” she said in a statement.
This Canadian Press report was first published on April 28, 2022.