When Robert Hillier was in high school, he was turned away from a blood donor clinic when he disclosed he was gay.
On Thursday, Hillier was finally able to contribute to the cause, not by giving from his own veins, but by having a friend come in and donate blood on his behalf.
As part of a Pride Week celebration, members of the community rallied at the blood services clinic in St. John's with eligible donors giving their blood in place of the gay men who are barred from volunteering because of a Canadian Blood Services policy aimed at reducing the risk of HIV/AIDS contamination.
Judy Morrison relaxed and ate a snack after giving her blood for Hillier. As a colleague of his in the Memorial social work program, she said she was disturbed to hear Hillier's story and she wanted to help.
She said the policy is geared for the 1980s when AIDS was new and largely unknown, and it should be changed.
"It's a bit outdated," she said. "I think the heterosexual (infection) numbers are crawling very quickly up to where homosexual numbers are and I think it's time to change policies."
While Hillier is adamant that the policy should be changed, he said the Pride Week organizers decided to hold a peaceful rally and work with blood services to stage the event in a way that wouldn't stop anyone from donating blood, but would still get their message across.
"In Western Canada there was a similar movement," he said.
"That was very successful in raising the awareness and opening the dialogue.
"A really big issue with being aggressive is, if you're very aggressive, people are going to die because there's not enough blood. It's known there's a blood shortage in Canada."
He said Canadian Blood Services has been very co-operative and has been reviewing the policy.
Canadian Blood Services spokeswoman Jillian Brown said the organization was pleased to work with the community to raise awareness about the policy.
She said the policy isn't meant to discriminate, but to reduce any possible risk.
She said public-health statistics show that the highest risk group for HIV/AIDS is men who have sex with men.
While the organization is reviewing the policy and considering different ways of screening people, it maintains it's taking the safest course.
Brown said the argument that the blood can simply be tested for the virus is faulty because the most advanced screening tests can't detect the virus within a certain two-week window after the disease is contracted.
"If someone donates blood and they've just contracted the virus within that window period, our tests ... will not pick it up."
But Susanne Gulliver, chairwoman for Pride Week planning, said there's more to the issue than risk assessments based on statistics. She said a supposed tendency towards unprotected sex underlies the policy, presumptions she challenges.
"They say 'Oh well, gay people don't know what their partners are doing,' and the fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter who you sleep with, you don't always know what your partners are doing," she said. "It's just ridiculous to assume one group is more trustworthy than another."
emclean@thetelegram.com
Blood policy under the microscope
Jillian Brown
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Published on
July 24, 2009
- Published on July 1, 2010
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Everton McLean
Health Gay men bring surrogate donors to protest Canadian Blood Services ban
When Robert Hillier was in high school, he was turned away from a blood donor clinic when he disclosed he was gay.
On Thursday, Hillier was finally able to contribute to the cause, not by giving from his own veins, but by having a friend come in and donate blood on his behalf.
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Comments
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- NL
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:04:58
I feel for those who feel discriminated against. As a regular donor, I understand wanting to donate blood and it would be disappointing to be rejected. I agree that heterosexual individuals also have a great risk of spreading HIV/AIDS. Perhaps the policy is outdated. The testing procedures seem sound to me however. The questions asked are thorough and they assure you will be contacted if any need should arise. I suppose there is the risk that one may not be honest in their questionnaire and that would pose a risk as well. Perhaps Canadian Blood Services is naïve in the assumption that everyone is a do-gooder. As well, as someone receiving blood, perhaps they agree with the anti-gay policy. First and foremost, health and safety comes first. No one can argue with that. Where there is risk, wherever and whoever it may be, health and safety must not be ignored.
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- Funky
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:02:42
If you truly want to consider someone equal in our society, you have to give them equality on all grounds.
This is 2009 and not 1989. I thought we would be further along then this. Everyone is at risk for HIV/AIDS today and this is pure discrimination against one group of people. A gay couple which have only been with each other their whole lives cannot donate blood, but a heterosexual male or female that has been with multiple partners throughout their lives only have to answer a few simple questions. Great screening process there.
Create a proper screening and testing procedures for all blood.
Susan Gilliver's quote at the end of the story summarizes the common sense perfectly. Common sense is so rare these days it seems to be becoming a superpower. -
- Joseph
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:02:19
so how did he contribute? he never. someone else did how stupid is that
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- Esron
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:02:18
Hmm, it's funny that they never posted my original comment, considering it's the truth. Hypocrisy much?!
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- Steve
- - July 2, 2010 at 15:00:45
Jillian Brown looks like Alanis Morrisette.
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- Michelle
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:55:56
With all the advances of equality, I am shocked to find out that gay men can't donate blood. Wow is all I can say.
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- Here we
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:51:34
I wonder if the Canadian Blood Service came out with this line since they are not able to properly test in the first place. If they were able to properly test, it really would not matter since the tests would screen out any bad blood right from the start.
Looks like they still have issues even with the new name. Kinda like the cancer testing, they just can not get it right and need to put blame on someone else.
Red Cross = Canadian Blood Service Did they not learn from the last few flubs. HIV, HEP C? Test it properly and they could take donations from anyone. Fail to test, then pick and choose I guess. Your name ay have changed by you legacy continues to haunt people you have harmed. -
- McLovin
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:24
They say 'Oh well, gay people don't know what their partners are doing,' and the fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter who you sleep with, you don't always know what your partners are doing, she said. It's just ridiculous to assume one group is more trustworthy than another
Who is They? Canadian Blood Services is not saying this. Their reason for not accepting blood from Gay males is good enough for me and I support them 100%. Facts are facts, gay males contract the HIV Virus at a greater rate than any other group.
I have absolutely no problems with how people live their lives. I'm certainly nobody to judge in any case but just because you live your life in a different way than most people do, that does not give you the right to dictate how the rest of us live ours. Especially when it jeopardizes the health of the population. -
- Henry
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:45:19
Who are these people to, think that other people should be put at risks just so they can say they have equal rights. This is a no brainer. I don't think this is a gay issue, I think is an issue of some people are going to complaint, whatever the issue or circumstance.
The safety of the general population should take priority over the rights of gays of any other group
PS. I'm not against gays or any other group, I just want to feel safe. -
- Rosann
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:44:45
I agree with McLovin from NL.... I have absolutely no issues with the gay population; however I do have concerns with letting a high risk population donate blood which is intended to assist those in need of healthy blood. We should be concentrating on research with the intent of improving the testing capabilities. The current two week window whereby HIV etc is not picked up through normal testing is what we need to perfect... it really has little to do with the gays in our society, it really has to do with the high risk population which just happens to be gay. Think of those on the receiving end of the donated blood..... when they receive this blood to make them better, they don't want to be subjected to the high risk of HIV, etc.
Being a gay man in society and how you live your life is a whole different issue... but if the statistics show this is a high risk group, then we have to accept this... it is not meant to assume or indicate all gay men have multiple partners. -
- Edward
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:43:28
Asolutely incredible that this policy is in place.
I am an openly gay man and went to donate blood in Toronto about a decade ago and was screened out because I was gay.
I walked away thinking that the whole blood collection system depended on how I answered the question Are you gay. I could have easily gone to another blood collection site, said I was divorced with three kids (that is not the case), and I would have been screened as OK.
I once volunteered on a safe sex phone line in Toronto giving out info on safe sex practices. One evening a married straight man called and said that he had been on a conference out of town and had unprotected sex during fling with a woman.
He was returning home to his wife who didn't know about the fling, and he wanted to know if he should have sex with his wife without using a condom.
Well duh, the answer is NOOOOO ! He should wait for 13 weeks and then get tested for HIV.
If thought, if he went to a blood collection and was asked if he was gay, his answer would be No and he would be screend as OK. Make any sense? -
- Esron
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:41:35
Who is They? Canadian Blood Services is not saying this. Their reason for not accepting blood from Gay males is good enough for me and I support them 100%. Facts are facts, gay males contract the HIV Virus at a greater rate than any other group.
Fine, if you want to look at it that way:
Let's stop accepting blood from blacks...Hey, they might be from Africa, and we know what AIDS is doing over there...
Stop accepting blood from Asians... because they might be Chinese, and their HIV levels are skyrocketing.
Stop accepting blood from people with a really dark tan... because they might be from India, and their HIV levels, too, are skyrocketing.
Now, if it was proposed to ban any of the groups above, there would be outrage (and understandably so) so why target a group just because they love differently!? Hmm? -
- Jody
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:40:27
The two-week window is not applicable to the screening process as such. For any increased risks such as tattoos, piercings, new sex partners, etcetera there are timeframes in place where you are not permitted to give blood. For example: if a heterosexual person has a new partner, they must wait one year before giving blood. Thus, a double standard exists because gay men are not permitted to give blood at all, ever, but heterosexuals can change partners multiple times over the course of a life time and still be permitted to donate blood after the one year period!!
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- McLovin
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:21
If you want to come on here and question Canadian Blood Services testing procedures that's a completely different issue than the theme that's being protrayed in this news story. I think it's very unfair to criticize CBS for discriminating against gay males when they are only looking out for the majority of the population. They've admitted that they have a flaw in their testing procedure and I for one am glad that they are taking precautions to ensure that potential threats are screened out. And I would be willing to bet that gay males are not the only group of people who are not allowed to donate!!
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- Francine
- - July 2, 2010 at 14:39:19
This has got to be one of the craziest posts I have ever read. It's not the gay person donating blood, it's their friend. The blood is coming from THEIR vain's not the gays. I have nothing against gay people but this is nuts.
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- NL
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:54:43
I feel for those who feel discriminated against. As a regular donor, I understand wanting to donate blood and it would be disappointing to be rejected. I agree that heterosexual individuals also have a great risk of spreading HIV/AIDS. Perhaps the policy is outdated. The testing procedures seem sound to me however. The questions asked are thorough and they assure you will be contacted if any need should arise. I suppose there is the risk that one may not be honest in their questionnaire and that would pose a risk as well. Perhaps Canadian Blood Services is naïve in the assumption that everyone is a do-gooder. As well, as someone receiving blood, perhaps they agree with the anti-gay policy. First and foremost, health and safety comes first. No one can argue with that. Where there is risk, wherever and whoever it may be, health and safety must not be ignored.
-
- Funky
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:51:39
If you truly want to consider someone equal in our society, you have to give them equality on all grounds.
This is 2009 and not 1989. I thought we would be further along then this. Everyone is at risk for HIV/AIDS today and this is pure discrimination against one group of people. A gay couple which have only been with each other their whole lives cannot donate blood, but a heterosexual male or female that has been with multiple partners throughout their lives only have to answer a few simple questions. Great screening process there.
Create a proper screening and testing procedures for all blood.
Susan Gilliver's quote at the end of the story summarizes the common sense perfectly. Common sense is so rare these days it seems to be becoming a superpower. -
- Joseph
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:51:12
so how did he contribute? he never. someone else did how stupid is that
-
- Esron
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:51:10
Hmm, it's funny that they never posted my original comment, considering it's the truth. Hypocrisy much?!
-
- Steve
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:48:49
Jillian Brown looks like Alanis Morrisette.
-
- Michelle
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:42:34
With all the advances of equality, I am shocked to find out that gay men can't donate blood. Wow is all I can say.
-
- Here we
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:35:16
I wonder if the Canadian Blood Service came out with this line since they are not able to properly test in the first place. If they were able to properly test, it really would not matter since the tests would screen out any bad blood right from the start.
Looks like they still have issues even with the new name. Kinda like the cancer testing, they just can not get it right and need to put blame on someone else.
Red Cross = Canadian Blood Service Did they not learn from the last few flubs. HIV, HEP C? Test it properly and they could take donations from anyone. Fail to test, then pick and choose I guess. Your name ay have changed by you legacy continues to haunt people you have harmed. -
- McLovin
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:24:53
They say 'Oh well, gay people don't know what their partners are doing,' and the fact of the matter is, it doesn't matter who you sleep with, you don't always know what your partners are doing, she said. It's just ridiculous to assume one group is more trustworthy than another
Who is They? Canadian Blood Services is not saying this. Their reason for not accepting blood from Gay males is good enough for me and I support them 100%. Facts are facts, gay males contract the HIV Virus at a greater rate than any other group.
I have absolutely no problems with how people live their lives. I'm certainly nobody to judge in any case but just because you live your life in a different way than most people do, that does not give you the right to dictate how the rest of us live ours. Especially when it jeopardizes the health of the population. -
- Henry
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:24:45
Who are these people to, think that other people should be put at risks just so they can say they have equal rights. This is a no brainer. I don't think this is a gay issue, I think is an issue of some people are going to complaint, whatever the issue or circumstance.
The safety of the general population should take priority over the rights of gays of any other group
PS. I'm not against gays or any other group, I just want to feel safe. -
- Rosann
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:23:49
I agree with McLovin from NL.... I have absolutely no issues with the gay population; however I do have concerns with letting a high risk population donate blood which is intended to assist those in need of healthy blood. We should be concentrating on research with the intent of improving the testing capabilities. The current two week window whereby HIV etc is not picked up through normal testing is what we need to perfect... it really has little to do with the gays in our society, it really has to do with the high risk population which just happens to be gay. Think of those on the receiving end of the donated blood..... when they receive this blood to make them better, they don't want to be subjected to the high risk of HIV, etc.
Being a gay man in society and how you live your life is a whole different issue... but if the statistics show this is a high risk group, then we have to accept this... it is not meant to assume or indicate all gay men have multiple partners. -
- Edward
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:21:36
Asolutely incredible that this policy is in place.
I am an openly gay man and went to donate blood in Toronto about a decade ago and was screened out because I was gay.
I walked away thinking that the whole blood collection system depended on how I answered the question Are you gay. I could have easily gone to another blood collection site, said I was divorced with three kids (that is not the case), and I would have been screened as OK.
I once volunteered on a safe sex phone line in Toronto giving out info on safe sex practices. One evening a married straight man called and said that he had been on a conference out of town and had unprotected sex during fling with a woman.
He was returning home to his wife who didn't know about the fling, and he wanted to know if he should have sex with his wife without using a condom.
Well duh, the answer is NOOOOO ! He should wait for 13 weeks and then get tested for HIV.
If thought, if he went to a blood collection and was asked if he was gay, his answer would be No and he would be screend as OK. Make any sense? -
- Esron
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:18:11
Who is They? Canadian Blood Services is not saying this. Their reason for not accepting blood from Gay males is good enough for me and I support them 100%. Facts are facts, gay males contract the HIV Virus at a greater rate than any other group.
Fine, if you want to look at it that way:
Let's stop accepting blood from blacks...Hey, they might be from Africa, and we know what AIDS is doing over there...
Stop accepting blood from Asians... because they might be Chinese, and their HIV levels are skyrocketing.
Stop accepting blood from people with a really dark tan... because they might be from India, and their HIV levels, too, are skyrocketing.
Now, if it was proposed to ban any of the groups above, there would be outrage (and understandably so) so why target a group just because they love differently!? Hmm? -
- Jody
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:16:27
The two-week window is not applicable to the screening process as such. For any increased risks such as tattoos, piercings, new sex partners, etcetera there are timeframes in place where you are not permitted to give blood. For example: if a heterosexual person has a new partner, they must wait one year before giving blood. Thus, a double standard exists because gay men are not permitted to give blood at all, ever, but heterosexuals can change partners multiple times over the course of a life time and still be permitted to donate blood after the one year period!!
-
- McLovin
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:14:33
If you want to come on here and question Canadian Blood Services testing procedures that's a completely different issue than the theme that's being protrayed in this news story. I think it's very unfair to criticize CBS for discriminating against gay males when they are only looking out for the majority of the population. They've admitted that they have a flaw in their testing procedure and I for one am glad that they are taking precautions to ensure that potential threats are screened out. And I would be willing to bet that gay males are not the only group of people who are not allowed to donate!!
-
- Francine
- - July 1, 2010 at 21:14:29
This has got to be one of the craziest posts I have ever read. It's not the gay person donating blood, it's their friend. The blood is coming from THEIR vain's not the gays. I have nothing against gay people but this is nuts.
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