Public consultation meeting 27 October
Protests force rethink by National Blood Service
“Ban reflects stererotyped, irrational, bigoted and unscientific fears”
London – 26 October 2009
Protest gay blood ban – I pm, Tuesday, 27 October, outside the Royal Horticultural Halls Conference Centre, Greycoat Street, London SW1. Organised by the National Union of Students. Supported by OutRage!
http://www.horticultural-halls.co.uk/venues/conference-centre/find-us/
“This review of the blanket, lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood is long overdue. It has been ordered by the National Blood Service in response to criticisms and protests by a range of organisations, including the LGBT human rights group OutRage!, the National AIDS Trust and the National Union of Students,” said human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell of OutRage!
“As part of this review, the government’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) is holding a public consultation meeting this Tuesday, 27 October, at 2pm, at the Royal Horticultural Halls Conference Centre, Greycoat Street, London SW1. The protest will precede this meeting, starting at 1pm.
“The review and public consultation coincide with the National Blood Service issuing an urgent appeal for donors, ahead of the winter flu season. Some of the potential shortfall in the blood supply could be met if the total ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood was lifted.
“The lifetime ban is backed by the government, which claims to oppose homophobic discrimination. It is based on the stererotyped, irrational, bigoted and unscientific assumption that any man who has had oral or anal sex with another man – even just once 40 years ago with a condom – is high risk for HIV. This is nonsense.
“The truth is that most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV. Their blood is safe.
“Among those prohibited from donating blood are: gay couples in life-long monogamous relationships, celibate gay and bisexual men, heterosexual men who experimented once with their schoolmates, and males who last had gay sex in the 1960s – over a decade before the HIV pandemic began. Even if men from these groups test HIV-negative, they are banned for life from donating blood. This policy is madness.
“OutRage has campaigned against the gay blood ban for 17 years, since 1992. It has been condemned by the gay-led charities, the Terrence Higgins Trust and Gay Men Fighting Aids. They have defended the ban, and never campaigned publicly against it.
“The priority must be to protect the blood supply from infection with HIV. But this can be achieved without a universal ban on all gay and bisexual men.
“Other countries have ditched their lifetime exclusion, including New Zealand, Spain, Italy, Japan and Australia. They allow some gay and bisexual men to donate blood, in certain cirumstances.
“Since Spain and Italy ended their gay ban, the number of HIV infections from contaminated blood donations has fallen.
“In the UK, the Anthony Nolan Trust has lifted its automatic ban on all bone marrow donations from gay and bisexual men.
“The National Blood Service should end the lifetime ban. The only men who should be excluded are those who have had oral or anal sex with a man without a condom in the last six months. All other gay and bisexual men should be accepted as donors, providing their blood tests HIV-negative. If the blood service wanted to be ultra cautious, it could do two different HIV tests on these donors: an antibody test and an antigen test. This would absolutely guarantee that the donated blood posed no risk to its recipients. This change of policy would not endanger the blood supply. The blood donated would be safe,” said Mr Tatchell.
Further information:
Peter Tatchell, OutRage! 0207 403 1790
Daf Adley, LGBT Officer, National Union of Students 07845 605152
SaBTO – 0207 972 4750
Public Meeting of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs
At their inaugural meeting in January 2008, members of SaBTO decided that a public meeting should be held every year, focusing on a particular issue within the committee’s remit. The 2009 Public Meeting will focus on the issue of donor selection ONLY. Selection of donors is key to the delivery of a safe blood supply. Many prospective donors may be turned down for a variety of reasons, including age, sexual history and medical concerns.
As a scientific advisory committee, SaBTO is concerned that exclusion or deferral of prospective blood donors is done for justifiable reasons and in the best interests of blood recipients. There are many interested parties, and we expect there to be lengthy and robust discussion on this topic. All attendees should be aware that issues not concerned with donor selection will not be discussed at this meeting.
For more information, please see the attached, or visit:
The format of the day will involve brief presentations by SaBTO members on the subject of donor deferral, followed by an open forum on this topic, with the opportunity to ask questions and make comments. A full summary of the meeting, including the Q&A, will be publicly available on SaBTO’s website following the meeting. This will include answers to questions that cannot be answered at the meeting should time run out.
Best regards
SaBTO Secretarial