please login to add to this item

Scottish students demand donation not discrimination

quick poll

Should gay men be able to donate blood?

• Yes
  100%
• No
  0%

Please give blood because we can't

Wednesday, 13 February 2008

Do something amazing today. Give blood. Unless your lifestyle puts you at risk of HIV or hepatitis. It’s an issue some LGBT campaigners have found hard to stomach over the years and this month has seen Scottish students join the debate. Students at Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen have launched a campaign after similar protests at universities in England. They want a rethink on the current guidelines, which they feel are out of date and full of discrimination. Matthew Middler, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) officer at RGU said they were urging fellow students to write to their MPs about the issue. “There is a major blood shortage yet there is a ban on any man who has had sex with another man donating. The view that all gay men have unsafe sex is one that is outdated and homophobic. This campaign is about raising awareness - a lot of people are really surprised and shocked when they hear about this policy, especially in recent years so far in terms of sexual equality.”

One visit to The National Blood service website and it soon becomes apparent how this policy of “lifestyle” manifests itself. When following the “can I donate?” process questions need to be answered including your age, if you’ve donated blood in the past 16 weeks, your general health at present – coughs, colds and the like, use of antibiotics, if you’re pregnant or a mother of a child under 9 months, history of hepatitis or jaundice in the past 12 months, recent acupuncture or piercing activities, whether you’ve received blood since 1980 and whether there’s CDJ in your family. Then comes question ten. “ Are you HIV positive or do you think you might be HIV positive?” Before you can answer a window pops up stating the following. “Please don’t give blood if you THINK you might need a test for HIV or hepatitis of if you have had sex in the past year with someone you think might be HIV positive or hepatitis positive. Although the chances of infected blood getting past our screening tests is very small our tests do not always show if you are infected. This is why we must take care in choosing donors and why you must not give blood if you are infected. We rely on your help and co-operation. Please answer the following question carefully.”

A petition questioning that very question was submitted to the government recently and demanded the National Blood Service change its policy of denying homosexual male donors. The government responded to the petition with the following statement. “We ask gay men not to give blood because gay men, as a group, are known to be at an increased risk of acquiring HIV and a number of other sexually transmitted infections (STI's), many of which are carried in the blood. It is specific behaviours, rather than being gay, which places gay men at increased risk of HIV infection. Safer sex will keep most gay men free from infection, however research shows that allowing gay men as a group to donate blood would increase the risk of HIV infected blood entering the blood supply. Although safer sex campaigns have had an impact, it is still considered that the risk of gay men being infected with HIV remains sufficiently high to include the criterion that they should not donate blood. Unfortunately, this means there will be healthy gay men who would be suitable for giving blood but who are excluded by the rule.”

Donation not discrimination. The debate continues.