(Quebec) Héma-Québec, whose mission is to supply health facilities in the province with blood and biological products of human origin, now allows gay men – or more precisely men who have sex with men – make plasma donations.
Posted at 11:02
The news, confirmed on Friday, is the conclusion of a request made by Héma-Québec to Health Canada last year. This advance still excludes blood donation for men whose last sexual relationship with another man dates back less than three months.
In a press release on Friday, Héma-Québec described the announcement as a “historic change”. Its communications department had not called back The Press at the time of publishing.
“This decision will allow Héma-Québec to abandon the current three-month plasma donation exclusion period for all men who have sex with men, and who are sexually active. Eligibility for plasma donation will thus be based on an individualized assessment of risk behaviors, rather than on whether the person belongs to a group considered to be at risk,” explains Héma-Québec.
“The new approach ensures that anyone – regardless of sex or gender – who comes forward to donate plasma will be asked if they have had sex and, if so, what their recent sexual behaviors have been. . Men who have had the same sexual partner in the last three months will be able to qualify for donation, provided they comply with the other selection criteria,” she continues.
Why exclude blood donation?
Allowing men who are gay or have sex with other men to donate blood is a historic request from some LGBTQ+ groups. In its press release, Héma-Québec responds Friday that “the transformation of plasma intended for the manufacture of drugs includes additional security measures, which are not found for blood and platelet donations”. It also specifies that “the new approach aims in this sense also to collect conclusive data which will make it possible, in a second phase, to extend the measure to blood and platelet donations”.
“Héma-Québec is in favor of further relaxations, insofar as new scientific evidence becomes available and the safety of the products is demonstrated,” she also writes on her website.
Last fall, Canadian Blood Services asked Health Canada to remove items about gender or sexual orientation from its donor questionnaires, replacing them with questions about sexual history and sexual behavior.
The Society is still awaiting a response from Health Canada on this matter, it confirmed on Friday. “Sexual behavior, not orientation, determines the level of risk of HIV transmission. The criteria we are proposing aim to accurately and reliably identify people at risk of being carriers of a blood-borne infection,” explained its spokeswoman Catherine Lewis last fall.
With The Canadian Press