Call to end 'offensive' gay blood donors ban

Published on Monday 14 April 2008 22:50

A BAN on gay and bisexual men giving blood should be overturned, MSPs are due to be told today.

Rob McDowall, a campaigner on gay rights, has branded current blood-transfusion policy "homophobic" for not accepting blood from men who have had homosexual relationships.

Mr McDowall is due to make representations to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee, demanding an end to the ban. However, ScotBlood, the Scottish blood transfusion service, said it would not change the rules due to a higher risk of blood from gay men being infected with HIV.

The last figures held by the Office of National Statistics for HIV and Aids were recorded in 2005.

They show the number of heterosexuals with Aids outstripped the number of homosexuals from 1999. But they also revealed that 46 per cent of new HIV cases between 1996 and 2005 involved gay and bisexual men, even though they statistically represent just 5-10 per cent of the population.

Dr Brian McClelland, strategy director at ScotBlood, said: "This donor-selection rule is often misunderstood and perceived to be discriminatory. This is not the case.

"While the absolute number of cases of HIV in heterosexuals diagnosed annually is greater than for men who have had sex with men, when the size of the respective populations is taken into account it can be seen that the relative risk of exposure is very different."

He added: "Figures would indicate a man who has had sex with a man is seven times more likely to contract HIV than a heterosexual.

"Abolishing the rule for gay men would increase the risk of an HIV-infected donation entering the blood supply by about five times, and changing the rule to allow gay men to donate one year after they last had sex with a man would increase the risk by 60 per cent."

Dr McClelland said the use of condoms only reduced the chances of infection and pointed out that transfusion services in the UK have a legal requirement under the Consumer Protection Act to provide safe blood.

Mr McDowall, who is gay, was first inspired to give blood aged 19 when he saw the way two transfusions saved the life of his three-week-old niece.

But at the blood bank he was told they did not want his blood because he is gay.

He said: "Since the 1980s, the British government has tried to brush Aids and HIV under the carpet and affix this disease to the gay community – a scary shadow of homosexuality that dare not show its face in modern-day blood transfusions."

He claimed the current rules meant fewer people can give blood, potentially putting lives at risk if a lot of blood is needed in the event of a disaster.

And he added: "This outdated, homophobic and offensive rule must be changed to allow gay and bisexual people to give the gift of life."

The petition has the support of Patrick Harvie, a Green MSP, who wants a review of testing procedures.

He said: "The procedures are outdated and if we had better testing, the issue of people's lifestyles and the origin of the blood would become irrelevant."

SURGE IN HIV INFECTIONS

THE last available figures from the Office of National Statistics are from 2005 and show that HIV cases are rapidly on the increase among both homosexuals and heterosexuals.

In 2005 there were 4,049 new cases in the UK involving heterosexuals, compared with 840 in 1996.

In the gay community, the number of cases rose to a new record of 2,356 in 2005, from 1,553 in 1996.