Canadian Blood Servic to end gay 'blood ban' | Toronto Sun

Contents:

• CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD
• CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC NOW ALLOWS SOME GAY, BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE PLASMA CALGARY, LONDON, ONT.
• GAY BLOOD BAN ENDG CANADA
• CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC TO END GAY 'BLOOD BAN,' BRG BEHAVUR-BASED SCREENG
• CANADIAN HEALTH THORI ADM GAY SEX DANGERO, BLOOD-DONORS MT BE ABSTENT 5 YEARS
• ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI
• WE MT END THE GAY BLOOD BAN, AND IT STARTS WH SMART POLICY
• T BLAM HARPER FOR LIBERAL ACTN ON GAY BLOOD BAN
• US WHE SUPREMACISTS FOUND GUILTY OF GAY PRI RT PLOT
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• HEALTH CANADA ENDS BAN ON BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY MEN
• I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN
• LGBTQ ACTIVISTS HOPE OFFICIALS LET GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD AMID COVID-19 NCELLATNS
• CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC URGENTLY NEEDS DONORS, BUT STILL WON'T ACCEPT GAY MEN
• GAY BLOOD BAN

CANADA LIFTS RTRICTNS ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD

OTTAWA (AP) — Health Canada on Thursday lifted rtrictns on gay men donatg blood, a move Prime Mister Jt T said was “good news for all Canadians” but had taken too long.

Health Canada approved the requt by Canadian Blood Servic to end the policy that rtricts homosexuals om donatg blood for three months after engagg gay sex.

The policy began 1992 as an outright ban on gay men donatg blood followg a tated blood sndal. Several chang were later ma to the blood donatn regime until ferral perds for donatns by gay men were lowered om a lifetime ban to three months 2019. LondonCanadian Blood Servic is takg the first steps to allowg gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men — which lls the gbMSM muny — to donate blood plasma, startg the tt ci of Calgary and London, agency's prev policy has been lled discrimatory, cludg by men who have sex wh menBlood plasma is the straw-loured liquid ponent left when blood cells are removed om whole blood.

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC NOW ALLOWS SOME GAY, BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE PLASMA CALGARY, LONDON, ONT.

Canadian Blood Servic is ttg out s plasma donatn eligibily, London, Ont., and Calgary, for gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men.

(Hiep Vu via Canadian Blood Servic)Canadian Blood Servic is takg the first steps to allowg gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men — which lls the gbMSM muny — to donate blood plasma, which is startg two tt ci: Calgary, Alta., and London, marks the first time the agency is openg donatns to gay and bisexual men. My blood is a rare type and ed to donate regularly before gay men were banned. "Plasma donated by gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men London and Calgary will be ma to plasma prote products when the donor at least 60 days later wh a plasma donatn that tts negative for fect diseas.

It is ed a variety of treatments for rare, life-threateng, chronic and geic years, Canadian Blood Servic has e unr fire for not allowg men who have sex wh men to donate blood, a practice many ll homophobic. The agency did not say when would expand the current plasma donatn abily to other centr beyond Calgary and ferral perd drops to 3 months for gay, bisexual men"We unrstand that beg turned away om donatg n leave any donor wh a sense of tratn and disappotment, " the agency said. "We also regnize that the slow pace of chang to donor creria that still exclu many gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men has been paful and tratg for many, and we are workg to create a more clive system.

GAY BLOOD BAN ENDG CANADA

Calgary paramedic 'elated' as Canada ends blood ban for men who have sex wh menBlood service remends endg ban on gay men donatg bloodInstead of beg asked about genr or sexualy, potential donors will be screened on higher-risk sexual behavur, such as anal sex.

Christopher Karas, who filed a human rights plat agast Health Canada to remove the ferral, says the policy still stigmatiz gay, bisexual men, and some transgenr people.

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC TO END GAY 'BLOOD BAN,' BRG BEHAVUR-BASED SCREENG

Christopher Karas, a gay man who filed a human rights plat agast Health Canada, says the new policy still stigmatiz gay and bisexual men. (Evan Msui/CBC)"But I know that a lot of gay, bi men and trans people will still be barred by this policy, so I thk 's a b unfortunate that the ernment has cid this is the approach they want to take, " said Karas.

CANADIAN HEALTH THORI ADM GAY SEX DANGERO, BLOOD-DONORS MT BE ABSTENT 5 YEARS

"What they're sayg is that gay and bi men and transgenr [people]... Prevly, the feral ernment has tried to block Karas's urt challenge that argu Health Canada is discrimatg agast gay men by overseeg a ban that prevents men who have sex wh other men om donatg blood. ListenThere's no reason for Canada to ntue banng gay men om donatg blood, says journalistPEERS Alliance says end to ban on gay blood donatn has been 'a long time g'When prsed by reporters on whether Health Canada played a plic role the discrimatory policy, T said scientific evince was need and didn't exist.

OTTAWA, May 23, 2013 () – Homosexual men who have not had sex wh other men for five years are now eligible to donate blood to the Canadian Blood Servic (CBS). The anizatn revealed yterday that has received approval om Health Canada to exchange a lifetime ban on homosexuals donatg blood for a ferral system. While homosexual activists have slammed the ferral policy as discrimatory towards gay men, a senr Medil Advisor at Health Canada has fend the ferral perd as a necsary preutn protectg the blood supply om the risk of disease ed by MSM (men who have sex wh men).

Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) released an updated HIV report showg that 79 per cent of all HIV diagnos men occurred the homosexual populatn. Homosexual activist groups nsulted by the CBS durg the revisn procs dited that abolishg sanctns agast MSM givg blood was more about a “public matter of social jtice” than about allowg a small actn of the populatn — timated at 3. Homosexual activists have mpaigned for more than a to have the ban lifted.

ONE OF N.L.'S FIRST MARRIED GAY UPL LOOK BACK WH PRI

“Our muny should feel empowered knowg we forced CBS to even talk about changg this policy and we shouldn't let them look like they did this out of the goodns of their hearts when took years of public prsure and llective actn”, wrote Rebec Rose, a homosexual activist who worked on the Canadian Feratn of Stunts’ End the Ban mpaign, on her Facebook wall. When Health Canada was nsirg liftg the ban on homosexuals givg blood last December, a U. Power and David Philpott had to make their own ke topper by glug groomsmen figur togetherFrom “partner” to “hband”: meet one of the first married gay upl N.

Philpott and Power may have been the first gay uple the provce to be legally married, but the trail they blazed was soon followed by many, wh the St.

WE MT END THE GAY BLOOD BAN, AND IT STARTS WH SMART POLICY

I was motivated by my own experienc of discrimatn, cludg beg nied the opportuny to donate blood bee I am sexually active gay man. Last summer, workg wh Communy Based Rearch Centre, we llected over 3, 500 surveys om gay, bi, queer, trans and Two-Spir men at 15 Pri ftivals across the untry.

T BLAM HARPER FOR LIBERAL ACTN ON GAY BLOOD BAN

However, even wh the new time ame place, the policy self still remas discrimatory and offensive to many gay, bisexual and queer men. While HIV is certaly an equable burn among gay men, the majory of gay men are HIV-negative and will rema HIV-negative their entire life.

Canadians, the Canadian Blood Servic, Health Canada and many gay, bisexual and queer men have the same goal — to provi Canada wh a safe and readily available supply of blood. Rather than perpetuate a cycle of discrimatn, our stutns should prrize genr-ntral risk-based asssments to create the most staable blood supply system Summ, formerly the Gay Men’s Health Summ veloped by the Communy Based Rearch Centre (CBRC) and prented by ViiV Healthre, is the biggt LGBTQ2+ muny health nference Canada wh a specific mandate to explore the health of gay, bi, queer and other men who have sex wh men (cis and trans) and Two-Spir people (GBT2Q) and related Beaty via Getty ImagA Canadian Blood Servic donatn clic Summ 2019 is takg place at the end of the month Vanuver wh the theme “Queerg Healthre Accs & Accsibily. We need a staable system that works for the 21st century and new generatns of blood Nathan Lachowsky is Rearch Director at CBRC and Prcipal Invtigaytor of the Sex Now survey.

US WHE SUPREMACISTS FOUND GUILTY OF GAY PRI RT PLOT

While fieldg qutns om reporters on Friday, Liberal Party Lear Jt T blamed former prime mister Stephen Harper for beg the reason behd his ernment’s abily to lift a blood ban on gay men.

Reporter: Why was there no mentn of liftg the gay blood donatn ban your platform? Image source, North Country Off Grid/Youtube/via RtersImage ptn, Photos shared on social at the time allegedly showed dozens of the hate group's members beg arrted near the pri eventFive members of a whe supremacist hate group nvicted of plottg to rt at a gay pri event will spend three days jail, a urt has men and dozens other members of the Patrt Front group were arrted last June after a rint spotted them wh masks and shields gettg to a were lled and found rt gear and a smoke grena the lorry was stopped near where the North Idaho Pri Alliance was holdg an event the cy of Cor d'Alene. Geni Pictur (“Mrs Lowry & Son, ” “Good Luck To You, Leo Gran”) has optned Emmett Monterey’s acclaimed memoir “Go the Way Your Blood Beats” – about growg up gay and disabled 1980s London – for TV adaptatn.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

At his mastream school, teachers refe to schle his class on the ground floor, and at his llege for disabled stunts, he’s told he will be expelled if the mors are te, if he’s gay. Dpe this urgent need for donatns, people who have sex wh gay or bisexual men are still facg rtrictns on their abily to give Food and Dg Admistratn bars people who have had sex wh gay or bisexual men om donatg blood for three months followg the most recent sexual ntact bee of fears of HIV the blood agency changed the ferral perd om 12 months to three months November 2020 as blood donatns fell and hospals faced cril shortag durg the first year of the COVID-19 advot, cludg the Human Rights Campaign, say the FDA is movg too slowly on removg the rtrictn, sayg that 's an outright ban on the abily of people, particularly gay and bisexual men, to donate blood.

HEALTH CANADA ENDS BAN ON BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY MEN

Rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men, who are nsired to be at high risk for HIV or AIDS transmissn, date back to the and bisexual men unrgo dividual risk asssments stead of time-based bans untri around the world, recently cludg Greece and France, acrdg to ternatnal reports.

A person is tted durg the first gay men's blood drive, held at the Memorial Blood Center St. The event was held to prott feral l that effectively ban gay men om donatg Bispg/Star Tribune via Getty Imag, FILEValant told ABC News a new statement that rearchers are halfway toward s goal of enrollg 2, 000 participants across eight ci: Washgton D.

I’M 43 – BUT I’M MA TO FEEL LIKE A DOSR BY YOUNGER GAY MEN

They enurage gay and bisexual men who are 18 to 39 years old to participate the FDA, a statement to ABC News, said that this study uld generate data that will help the agency terme if a donor's dividual risk asssment and qutnnaire would be jt as effective rcg the risk of HIV the blood supply as the time-based ferrals the FDA already has FDA also said do not have a specific timele for when the studi will be pleted but that is "mted to gatherg the scientific data that n support alternative donor ferral polici that mata a high level of blood safety. Canadian Blood Servic has today remend that Canada end the ban on gay men donatg blood, a submissn to Health McIntosh/The Canadian PrsThe feral ernment will no longer tomatilly ban sexually active gay and bisexual men om donatg blood to Canadian Blood Servic, endg a policy that has long been cricized as discrimatory and lackg scientific Canada announced the cisn Thursday, years after Prime Mister Jt T promised to elimate the ban. Prr to Thursday’s announcement, Canada blocked gay and bisexual men, as well as other men who have sex wh men, om donatg blood unls three months had passed sce their last sexual ntact wh men.

Opn: Canada should have scrapped s homophobic ban on blood donatns om gay men long agoBlood service remends Health Canada end gay blood donatn banCanadian Blood Servic spokperson Cathere Lewis said the new procs is ground science. In 2013, Health Canada said gay men uld donate blood, so long as they had not had sex wh other men the prr five Liberal Party promised to end the ban durg the 2015 electn mpaign that brought the T ernment to power. "When we see notic about blood shortag and the urgent need for donatn, 's very tratg to be a posn where you n't donate even though you would be an eligible match, " said Costcu, a sexual health specialist and associate profsor at McMaster anizatn won't allow gay and bisexual men like Costcu to donate blood if they are sexually active unr s current guil — spe seeg people ncel appotments amid lls for social distancg to avoid spreadg the l state that men n't have sex wh other men for three months before beg allowed to give blood bee the anizatn believ the hort is a high-risk group, as they acunt for the largt proportn of new HIV fectns reported Dt Costcu, a sexual health specialist and associate profsor at McMaster Universy Haton, who is gay, said Canadian Blood Servic should look to gay and bisexual men as donors.

(McMaster Universy)Gay and bisexual men have faced rtrictns sce the tated blood sndal of the 1980s, when thoands of Canadians were fected wh HIV or hepatis C om donated blood.

LGBTQ ACTIVISTS HOPE OFFICIALS LET GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD AMID COVID-19 NCELLATNS

That approach screens out gay men who have unprotected sex wh multiple partners, as opposed to those who are monogamo ferral perd drops to 3 months for gay, bisexual menOpnThis is not your father's gay blood ban era. Costcu also said now is the time to donate bee all the ncellatns and closur have eed up time to give blood, pecially before Canada se a spike s that aren't travel-related — but the polici preventg gay and bisexual men to donate are workg agast that. "To ny that life-givg opportuny to gay and bi-sexual men who have the same ways of wantg to be a part of the muny as anyone else would is so offensive.

"Costcu, and many others cludg Pike, say CBS' rearch isn't rooted science, but homophobic stereotyp.

CANADIAN BLOOD SERVIC URGENTLY NEEDS DONORS, BUT STILL WON'T ACCEPT GAY MEN

They don't thk there's any reason to le out all gay and bi men, pecially if they practice safe sex, don't have sex often or are a monogamo relatnship.

CBS lays out a full list of eligibily donor l have been relaxedAs of this past April, several eligibily creria for blood donors have been relaxed, cludg the guil around tattoos and piercgs, dog away wh the upper age lim for senrs, and as well as the 12-hour wa to give blood after gettg dnk or smokg 'blood ban'One group notably exclud om blood donor eligibily is sexually active gay men. In 2013, gay or bisexual men were allowed to donate once aga — provid they had not had sex wh a man the last five years. The "gay blood ban" has been lled unnecsary and unjt by many the LGBTQ muny and beyond.

)"This policy is rooted a bias, " lawyer and human rights advote Christopher Karas, who is gay, told HuffPost Canada. I'm a gay man.

GAY BLOOD BAN

"I'm a gay man.

"A gay man and a straight man equals the same risk.