The federal blood agency said focusing on sexual behaviour, not orientation, will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections, such as HIV, that can be transmitted through transfusions. If they have, they would need to wait three months since that activity before donating blood. If yes, they would then be asked whether they have had anal sex with any of those partners. “The current approach was discriminatory and wrong, and this is a significant milestone in moving forward on both the safety of our blood supply but also non-discriminatory practices.”Ĭanadian Blood Services had asked Health Canada to allow it to scrap questions about gender or sexuality when screening potential donors and ask about higher-risk sexual behaviour instead.īy the end of September, potential donors will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months, no matter their gender or sexual orientation. “It's been a long time coming,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday in Ottawa. OTTAWA - Health Canada has approved an end to policy that restricts men who have sex with men from donating blood products for three months, a change welcomed by LGBTQ advocates but criticized - including by the prime minister, who promised years ago to end it - as long overdue.
