Health Canada gave for the first time on Wednesday the green light for the donation of blood from men who have sex with other men, a decision which does not apply for the moment in Quebec.
It is the Canadian Blood Services (CBS), the organization that collects the precious liquid in the other provinces of Canada, which filed the request to eliminate the period of exclusion for homosexual men who are in a stable relationship. , for example. Currently, blood is refused from men who have had sex with another man within the last three months.
Collection is done in Quebec by Héma-Québec, which currently only accepts blood plasma donations from homosexual men, not blood. By email, Héma-Québec called Health Canada’s decision on Wednesday “good news” for its two-step approach. The first consists of first accepting plasma from homosexual men before expanding to other types of donation, such as blood and platelets. This last step is scheduled for 2023.
Héma-Québec’s plan stems from consultations with, in particular, its recipients committee, to ensure the “level of acceptability and support” for this type of change.
To make its decision, Health Canada says it conducted a “thorough review of the evidence supporting the safety of the revised donor screening,” based on the support of experts. The role of this organization was only to accept or refuse the requests presented to it by Héma-Québec or the CBS.
The federal government could not therefore force the criteria for blood donation, even if the Trudeau government had specifically promised to extend it to homosexuals in 2015. In the end, it was content to fund research on the issue.
Wednesday’s approval at the request of Canadian Blood Services “marks an important milestone towards a more inclusive blood donation system across the country,” Health Canada said in its statement.
In provinces other than Quebec, the usual blood donation form will be replaced by September 30 with questions focused more on high-risk sexual behavior, regardless of the gender identity or sexual orientation of the donor. .