Ban on gay blood
donors to continue in Canada

Although pressure is growing in the United States to end the lifetime ban on blood donations by gay men, two prominent groups north of the border have come out against such a change in Canada. Both the Canadian Blood Services, which oversees the nation's blood supply, and the Canadian Hemophilia Society prefer to maintain the current ban preventing blood donations by any man who has had sex with another man since 1976, reports the Vancouver newspaper The Province. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to change the lifetime ban to allow gay men who have not had sex in the last 12 months to donate blood. But David Page, spokesperson for the Canadian Hemophilia Society, said that time period is not sufficient. "A one-year ban is not enough," he told The Province. "The information we have now is [such a change] would increase the health risk, not of HIV but of either unknown or emerging viruses." A spokesperson for the Canadian Blood Services agreed, saying that the high rate of HIV among gay men requires the agency to "stay the course" for the moment. He added, however, that the agency is currently conducting a risk assessment on the consequences of any change to the ban. (The Advocate)