The CBS board of directors discuss changing the permanent blood donation ban, but ultimately decide to maintain it. However, they note that research is needed to close the gaps identified during consultations regarding what deferral period (length of time between sex and donation) would preserve blood safety. Men who have..Read More
The Freeman v. Canadian Blood Services case began in 2002 when Mr. Freeman countersued CBS for discrimination due to his sexual orientation. Justice Aitken ultimately sides with CBS, ruling that because CBS is a non-profit organization and is not a government entity, it’s not subject to the Charter. She acknowledges..Read More
Motivated by his work studying a cure for HIV and his desire to help, Stephen McCarthy went to donate blood and found that he was unable due to the exclusion criterion for men who had sex with another man in the past 5 years. He worked with Canadian Blood Services..Read More
Motivated by his work studying a cure for HIV and his desire to help, Stephen McCarthy went to donate blood and found that he was unable due to the exclusion criterion for men who had sex with another man in the past 5 years. He worked with Canadian Blood Services..Read More
A reduction from 5 years and another step toward an inclusive, evidence-based policy, gbMSM can now donate after 1 year of abstinence (from male-male sex). Health Canada also provides $3 million to Canadian Blood Services and Héma-Québec to fund research and collect data targeting policy change for men who have..Read More
Before this change was introduced, trans donors may have been screened as female at one clinic but male at another. To standardize the screening process across clinics, trans donors are now screened as their sex assigned at birth unless they have had lower genital gender-affirming surgery at least 3 months..Read More
A reduction from 12 months and another step toward an inclusive, evidence-based deferral, gbMSM can now donate after 3 months of abstinence (from male-male sex). The 3 month period is chosen because the tests used on donations to check for infections (like HIV, syphilis, or hepatitis) have what is known..Read More
Canadian Blood Services introduces screening for pre- or post-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP), asking all donors if they have taken the HIV-preventative medication in the last 4 months. This screening criterion is added to the Donor Health Questionnaire because although the medication is a critical advance in the fight against HIV, Canadian..Read More
15 years after homosexuality stopped being classified as a mental disorder, in May of 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) removes “gender identity disorder” from their International Classification of Diseases (ICD). This means trans individuals are no longer considered to have a mental disorder. The World Health Organization Will Stop..Read More