Dearest Readers,
The Toronto Canadian Blood Services clinics, unsurprisingly, says scheduled appointments to donate blood are down almost 50% as a result of fears for G20 issues. People are deterred from travelling from their Toronto homes due to the almost certain backlog of traffic and anticipated protests.
“Our booked appointments are down by roughly 50% next week,” spokesman Janet Wong said. “We need 540 donors to book appointments next week to ensure an adequate supply of blood and blood products.” (Source: Toronto Sun)
I find it especially hard to sympathize for an organization that discriminates against an entire group of people. Canada is one of the most tolerant nations that encourages people to be who they are. Our glorious country strives to breakdown the walls of stereotype, generalization, and prejudice. So why and how, in the 21st century, can Canadian Blood Services reject large populations of people, many of whom are perfectly eligible and willing to donate, from giving blood?
Gay men are denied from giving lifesaving blood. The organization considers homosexual men high-risk HIV/AIDS vessels and therefore threaten to taint the blood supply. Though I can see how one may deduce that, due to the history behind the virus, gay men are a risk, it is bogus logic to conclude all gay men pose a threat. The fact that HIV/AIDS is a growing presence among heterosexual Canadian females ages 18 to 24, and also that many youth ignore the risk of receiving STIs shows there are more important threats that may slip by the screening process. Inexplicably, the latter demographic has little "red tape" when it comes to giving blood.
A few months ago, an Ontario man was charged heavily for concealing from Canadian Blood Services his sexual orientation.
I also find it a pure contradiction that Canadian Blood Services' slogan is, "Blood. It's in you to give", when a man like I, a healthy male and virtually unexposed to the risk of contracting the virus, cannot give blood. I cannot feel disgrace toward my fellow non-donating Canadians when I hear about the lack of blood donation occurring. I do, of course, have the utmost remorse for those who need blood, but are barred access to it due to the prejudice and stereotype imposed by this anti constitutional ruling.
On one side of the coin I am shocked this exists in Canada, yet on the other, I am not. Last week Statistics Canada released the latest hate crime statistics. All around the country, hate crimes increased dramatically. Among racial, religious, and sexual orientation hate crimes, the latter saw the largest increase and the most violent in 2008. To boot, Hamilton, Ontario, (the city that runs Mount Hope, my hometown) was responsible for the most frequent and vicious attacks on gay men. I shake my head in shame. Homophobia is alive and well.
Albeit, there are a few religious groups, old school thought, and organizations who will never change. I do believe that Canadian Blood Services will wake up from their disillusionment, but unfortunately until that day comes, those in need will continue to suffer and die.
Canadian Blood Services bases its deferral policies on scientific studies and fact. Their policies are approved and upheld by Health Canada, and shared by many blood collection agencies across the world.
ReplyDeleteBased on statistics from the 2006 Canada Communicable Disease Report, men who have sex with men still remain at higher risk of contracting HIV / AIDS than people who engage in only heterosexual sex; men who have sex with men represent 51% of all HIV cases in Canada and 45% of new infections. While each unit of blood undergoes rigorous testing, the unfortunate fact remains that there is a small window period after contracting HIV / AIDS wherein it cannot be detected in the blood. As such, a variety of questions are asked in order to defer donors who participate in behaviours which (statistically speaking) increase the risk of contracting HIV / AIDS.
These behaviours include using illegal drugs through a needle, using cocaine, either paying or being paid for sex, having sex with somebody from Africa, receiving a blood transfusion in Africa, men having sex with men, women having sex with men who have had sex with men, anybody having sex with somebody whose sexual history they don't know, and so on. By deferring donors who select "yes" to these questions, Canadian Blood Services is essentially able to eliminate any possibility of tainted blood entering the blood system during the window period wherein HIV / AIDS cannot be detected by tests.
Considering that Canadian Blood Services was created after the tainted blood tragedy with the mandate of building a safe blood supply, it makes sense that they are extremely cautious when it comes to deferral policies. While new testing procedures have shortened the "window period" significantly, and Canadian Blood Services is exploring its options, any decision that is made must be done with a great deal of forethought, planning, and extensive, extensive research.
Incidentally, while it may seem contradictory, this particular policy actually has little to do with "being homosexual". Men who identify as gay but are celibate can donate blood, while men who identify as straight but have either experimented with (or been forced into) sex with another man are deferred. Equally, many men who have sex with men support the blood system in other ways, by joining OneMatch or by volunteering with the organization; these contributions are valued greatly by Canadian Blood Services.
A final point - you mention that until Canadian Blood Services changes its policies, people in need will continue to "suffer and die". Canadian Blood Services continues to consistently meet (and even exceed) hospital demand for blood. Even at times when the national inventory of blood has been dangerously low, the only consequence was that some elective surgeries (planned, non-emergency surgeries like cosmetic surgery) had to be postponed. While it is still important to recruit new blood donors, it may be a comfort to know that the strict eligibility requirements in place for donating blood do not threaten the availability of blood.