bdoing:

This is the link to a survey currently being done by Canadian Blood Services (CBS), about their current ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) from giving blood. Right now, if you are a man and you have had any sexual contact, even once, with another man since 1977, you are given a lifetime ban from giving blood. No exceptions. If another man sucked you off in 1980, and you were both virgins at the time, and you haven’t looked at another man for longer than three seconds since? Lifetime ban, same as someone who has unprotected sex with every third guy he meets. [For contrast: injecting yourself with steroids? 12-month ban. Having sex with someone whose sexual background you don’t know? 6-month ban, so long as the penises don’t touch.] So, uh. Obviously this ban needs some work, as it’s been protested against a number of times.

The problem is that now, they’re looking at shortening it: to between 5 and 10 years, instead of for a lifetime.

This is bullshit, and we need to take it to the survey to tell them so. This shortening of the ban is a political move so that they can say that they’re “making progress” and it is nothing more than this. 

Go fill out the survey and let CBS know what you think of the ban in general and of this shortening.

There is also contact information given at the end:

Don Lapierre, 613.739.2440

don.lapierre@blood.ca

I have emailed him with a set of questions, and if he gets back to me (which I won’t see until after I get back from Cameroon on the 12th), I’ll be posting my email and his response.