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Bad blood over Red Cross ban

Rachel Cook

 

Gay activists have called on state health officials and the Red Cross to review the ban on gay blood donation.

Last week it was announced that the blood donor age in Tasmania would be reduced to 16 years of age. Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group spokesperson, Rodney Croome, responded by asking, “If the guidelines can be changed to allow younger people to donate, why not gay and bisexual men whose blood is safe?”

Currently, men who have had sex with men within the last 12 months are barred from donating blood for 12 months, effectively delivering an indefinite ban to men who are in long-term sexually active monogamous relationships.

“Gay men who have safe sex within monogamous relationships are at less risk of HIV infection than many heterosexuals who have unsafe sex but are still allowed to donate blood,” Croome said.

“Banning gay men from blood donation is bad health policy, not only because it is an example of unnecessary discrimination but because it reduces the amount of safe blood available for transfusion.”

Melbourne gay man Ian Macleish said he was ‘surprised’ when he read the Red Cross questionnaire as to why gay men are specifically targeted.

“It’s discriminatory; the questions are biased against gay men,” he told MCV. “Why aren’t heterosexuals asked if they have had unprotected sex?”

A spokesperson for the Australian Red Cross Blood Service told MCV: “The deferral of males who have had male-to-male sex is based … on the statistically higher incidence of some blood borne diseases (such as HIV) amongst such populations.” 

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written by Kerry , June 18, 2008

I was a blood donor for 10 years until the new rule came in banning me.

Here I am 25 years on, still well and willing to donate blood (after all I would willingly receive donated blood should I ever need it).

I contacted the Red Cross a couple of years ago to see if the 'rules' had changed and were they interested in taking my blood regularly. The answer as we all know was NO. Silly and disappointing.
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written by Daniel Blackburn , June 12, 2008

Until they fix their stupid laws and rules they should stop complaining about the shortage of blood donors, it's their own fault!
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written by Vanessa Heaton , June 12, 2008

Statistically higher where exactly??

Worldwide more heterosexual people are infected with HIV than non-heterosexuals!

This blatant discrimination needs to stop now.
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