Blood-ban for gay men to be reviewed

By Jillian Toman

The close to 30-year ban that prohibits men that identify as gay, bisexual and Men who have  Sex with Men (MSM) from donating blood is being reviewed by the Liberal Party of Canada. The current ban requires the said group to be celibate for a minimum of five years to be able to donate.

Hopeful advocates have responded to the review of the potential lifting of the ban. The President of Windsor Pride’s board of directors, Colm Holmes, suggests the ban was created based on discriminatory grounds.

“What they’re doing is they’re utilizing kind of perception and processes and stereotypes that they have about gay and bisexual men, in order to dictate policy,” said Holmes.

This promise was made on the Liberal Party website in October of this year.  The blood-ban used to be indefinite until 2013, when it was amended to provide gay men the opportunity to donate blood under current screening requirements.

For more information visit: http://www.liberal.ca/realchange/ending-msm-blood-donation-ban/

With files from Kenneth Bullock