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Downing St defends ban on gay blood
#1
[img2=left]http://www.gayspeak.com/forum/images/news/downingst.jpg[/img2]A statement on the Prime Minister's website claims some gay men flout blood donation guidelines and reveals that 40 donations a year are infected with HIV.

A petition on the site calls for an end to discrimination against gay and bisexual men by the National Blood Service.

HIV is now at its fast growing rate in the heterosexual community but the NBS regard all men who have sex with men as too high-risk to accept blood from.

A statement on the No 10 website responding to the petition says the government has a duty to ensure a balance between risk reduction and security of supply.

The petition, signed by over 500 people, said: "The polices of the NBS are outdated, making decisions as to whether or not your allowed to give blood on how honest you are."

The official government response on the No 10 site reads:

"The self-exclusion criterion concerning gay men has been reached through a close analysis of the epidemiology of confirmed HIV and Hepatitis B positive tests among blood samples from people donating blood at United Kingdom Blood Service sessions.

"The Government has been advised that every year from the analysis of nearly three million donations collected by the United Kingdom and Irish Blood Services, about 40 donations are confirmed to be positive for HIV.

"Of these, a third to a half are given by men who, following further enquiries by the NBS, reveal that they are gay men.

"These figures indicate that some gay men are still giving blood in spite of the current rules.

"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.

"However, it is not practical to expect donor session staff to be able to differentiate between gay men with lower or with higher risk lifestyles, so all gay men have to be excluded."

The ban on gay and bisexual men has been removed in many countries, among them Italy, Sweden, South Africa, Portugal and Spain.

Currently, student groups and others are protesting the blanket ban, arguing that it is a person's behaviour rather than the fact of their sexual orientation that should be used to calculate risk factors.

The Sexual Orientation Regulations, which became law at the start of this month, granted an opt-out for blood donation clinics.

Regulation 28 says that it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on grounds of their sexual orientation when he offers to donate blood, unless there is reasonable basis from clinical and epidemiological data to do so.

The Department of Communities and Local Government said that this regulation was added on the advice of the Department of Health.

It appears to allow the National Blood Service to continue to discriminate against all gay and bisexual men.

However, it also leaves the NBS open to a legal challenge as to the efficacy of their clinical evidence that all bi and gay men are at a higher risk of passing on the HIV virus through a blood transfusion.

"It will enable the National Blood Service to maintain its policy on excluding donations by certain groups, including gay men, where this is tied to close and regular monitoring of blood samples from people donating blood in the UK," a DCLG spokeswoman said about Regulation 28 in March.

Many gay activists were surprised that a regulation was devised specifically to protect the ban on gay blood as it is highly unlikely that giving blood constitutes receipt of a service.

Stonewall, the gay equality organisation, said:

"We listen to medical advice on this issue but we are reviewing our policy to consider whether a blanket ban is necessary.

"We would always want to make sure that the most recent developments in medical technology and research are taken into account.

"Some gay men who are turned away are treated badly and even if this ban has to be held up, we would urge that bisexual and gay men should be treated with respect by blood donation staff."
Note: No trees were destroyed in the sending of this contaminant free message. However, I do concede, a significant number of electrons may have been inconvenienced.
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#2
Have always been happy given the chance to donate blood.. I'm a healthy Gay man, no problems there.

We had the vampires ( as we call them) at my old workplace few months ago, they tried desperately to get me to donate, until I told them that they dont want my blood so why should I. The Blood Drive member of staff then laughed and said why, when I told them, all i got in return was a NO THANKYOU ! reply and a look of disgust as I left the room.

Ahh well.. your loss vampires. and just remember.. statistics prove there are actually more HIV+ women in this country through prostitution and drugs than men from being gay !!
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#3
It's disgusting that gay men can't, by default, donate blood, and it's not in keeping with the policies of other countries. Gay & Lesbian Humanist mag, which I have some editorial input into, carried an interesting article by Peter Tatchell last December. Worth a read. He's as disgusted as I am – and, I suspect, most gay men, too.
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#4
Woa! And i was going to give blood too. :frown:
Seriously though, Over half the infected blood still comes from hetrosexuals, and those are only blood samples DISCOVED to be infected, there could be, and probably is satisicly, that there are many more infected blood donations of straight people yet to be tested. They do have numrical supiriority after allWink
Silly Sarcastic So-and-so
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#5
Never let the facts get in the way of a good dose of discrimination :frown:

I wonder if the equality legislation argument could be used successfully in court? Discrimination aside, it's a scandal that the National Blood Service is apparently relying on outdated testing methods that fall below current standards in the rest of the healthcare system.
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#6
When 9-11 hit they were screaming for every able bodies human to donate blood... got my ass to the red cross and started filling out the questionnaire... I was refused donating since I had sex with one partner of over 10 years. Hope someone didnt die from too little blood supply in the system.
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#7
marshlander Wrote:I wonder if the equality legislation argument could be used successfully in court?

I very much doubt it, blood donation is a gift not a service. I wonder whether most gay men who object so strongly to the ban would actually give blood, or do they just object to the principle that they can't give blood but not the practice that they don't. I just regard it as a relief from the obligation to give blood.
Fred

Life is what happens while you are busy making other plans.
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