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Several changes were later made to the blood donation regime until deferral periods for donations by gay men were lowered from a lifetime ban to three months in 2019.Ī Red Cross worker handles a blood donation, while at a basketball court in Los Angeles, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The policy began in 1992 as an outright ban on gay men donating blood following a tainted blood scandal. The agency says asking about sexual behavior rather than sexual orientation will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections such as HIV.Ĭatherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for Canadian Blood Services, said the criteria change is “science-informed“ and allows the agency to be more inclusive about who can donate while still ensuring a safe blood supply. Blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men are being relaxed across the UK, in what the government is calling a 'landmark change'. This brings the USA’s blood donation policy into line with Catholic and Evangelical Christianity, which both declare that they’re fine with gay people, provided they don’t actually do gay things. Greg Stanton, D-Phoenix, is among those pushing the FDA to remove restrictions and prohibitions preventing gay and bisexual men. In April 2020, that abstinence period was reduced to three months. If they have, they will need to wait three months after such activity before donating blood. To donate blood gay men must entirely abstain from sex for a year, even if they’re in a monogamous relationship, use condoms, and regularly get tested for STIs. The lifetime ban was changed in December 2015 to allow gay and bisexual men to donate if they had not had sex with other men for 12 months. Those who say yes will be asked if they have engaged in higher-sisk sex. 30, potential donors will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last previous months, no matter their gender or sexual orientation. Gay men, who were often donating blood as a way to be subtly tested for sexually transmitted infections, protested claiming they were being unfairly targeted. The blood service asked Health Canada to allow it to scrap questions about gender or sexuality, and instead base screening on higher-risk sexual behavior such as anal sex.
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READ MORE: How to help amid a national blood shortage Health Canada approved the request by Canadian Blood Services to end the policy that restricts homosexuals from donating blood for three months after engaging in gay sex. Trudeau said his government spent C$5 million dollars (US$3.9 million) on research into the safety aspects of changing the blood donation rules and multiple scientific reports showed “our blood supply will continue to be safe.” Trudeau said at a news conference the ban should have ended 10 to 15 years ago, but research proving it would not affect the safety of the blood supply had not been done by previous governments. OTTAWA (AP) - Health Canada on Thursday lifted restrictions on gay men donating blood, a move Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said was “good news for all Canadians” but had taken too long. In 2015, health officials began to allow some gay men to donate based on their recent sexual history now, due to a 'severe' blood supply shortage caused by the COVID-19 outbreak, the barrier to.