Canadian LGBTQ advocates want Health Canada to go further in changing parts of its blood donation policy.
The advocates are calling for a gender-neutral approach, building on changes made this spring when the federal agency reduced the wait period for bisexual men and trans women from 12 to three months.
This change this spring was the latest in a series of reductions in the wait period, which began as a lifetime ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men that was introduced in 1992 after thousands of Canadians were infected with HIV and hepatitis C through tainted blood products.
The ban was lifted in 2013 when Health Canada allowed donations from men who said they had abstained from sex with other men for five years.
People in Calgary attend a demonstration and drag show in front of city hall last month in support of the LGBTQ community, which is calling for a gender-neutral approach to blood donations. (Lucie Edwardson/CBC)
In 2016, the deferral period was reduced to one year, leading up to this spring’s change.
Health Canada says its wait periods are based on data about HIV transmission in certain populations and points to 2017 Centre for Communicable Diseases and Infection Control report that found that “gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men” continued to represent almost 46.4 percent of all reported HIV cases in adults.
The department says it is open to eliminating the waiting period as long as the change is supported by evidence and says it is funding 15 research projects investigating the eligibility criteria for men who have sex with men.
One of those projects is led by Nathan Lachowsky at the University of Victoria.
He supports a gender-neutral approach, something that has been implemented in several countries, including Spain, Portugal and Italy.
“If we are not getting new blood donors into the system we run the risk of not having a sufficient blood supply which would be quite catastrophic for a lot of people.
Catherine Jenkins, the treasurer for PFLAG Vancouver, believes Health Canada’s wait policy is arbitrary and stigmatizes the LGBTQ community. (CBC)
Catherine Jenkins, a trans women living in Vancouver who has a PhD in biology and currently serves as the treasurer for PFLAG Vancouver, says it’s not just about the science.
I spoke with her by phone on Wednesday.
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