QUESTION PERIOD — Health
Blood Donation Screening Criteria
June 15, 2022
My question is for the Government Representative in the Senate.
Senator Gold, since it’s National Blood Donor Week, I would like to remind this chamber of recent advances in blood donor screening. On April 28, 2022, Health Canada eliminated the three-month donor deferral period for men who have sex with men and replaced it with a less discriminatory screening approach.
Starting in the fall of 2022, all donors will be screened for high-risk sexual behaviour, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
That said, in The Hill Times article of May 13, 2022, Dane Griffiths, director of the Gay Men’s Sexual Health Alliance said:
. . . the new policy will still discriminate against the “vast majority of gay and bisexual men” who will still not be able to donate, as well as further increasing the stigma surrounding queer sex, specifically regarding HIV/AIDS.
This is particularly so given that Health Canada’s policy for assessing high-risk behaviour will not take into consideration advances like pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, a medication that prevents HIV transmission, and the fact that potential donors who are HIV-positive can have an undetectable viral load.
April’s announcement is a first step, but it is not enough. Senator Gold, what steps does the Canadian government plan to take next to improve and adapt blood donation eligibility for the LGBTQ2+ community, and when will this happen?
Thank you for this question.
The government remains committed to supporting blood and plasma donation policies in Canada that are safe, non-discriminatory and scientifically based.
As you mentioned, on April 28, Health Canada authorized a submission from Canadian Blood Services to eliminate the three-month blanket donor deferral period for all sexually active men who have sex with men. This deferral period will be replaced by an approach that screens all donors for high-risk sexual behaviour, regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation.
The authorization is a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system nationwide and builds on progress in scientific evidence made in recent years thanks to government-funded research.
Under the Blood Regulations, Canada’s two blood operators, Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec, are required to make submissions to Health Canada for any changes to their processes, such as changes to donor deferrals. Héma-Québec has indicated that more flexible donor screening criteria for plasma will be implemented in the fall of 2022.
In the months that follow, the organization plans to file a submission with Health Canada to extend these measures to other types of donations, such as whole blood and platelet donations.
Thank you for the answer, Senator Gold. Can I count on you to make sure Health Canada responds to the submissions that will be filed in this regard?
I will do my best.
