The Blood Ban

[Proud Mary 1980]

In Ireland, there is a ban on men who have slept with men giving blood, what do you think of this?

[solice]

i dont like it at all, i think its unfair as people who take intrevenous drugs (the illegal kind) are only prevented from giving blood for a year or so as is the same with prostitutes.

the rate of transmission of stds such as HIV among gay men over the last few years has fallen dratmatically (keep up the good work boys and use protection) while the rate of transmission among hetrosexuals has risen. yet we are prevented from giving blood.

there are alot of things that have to be sorted out in society and the realisation that not every gay man has aids is one of them

[101333]

Nothing new, its being like since dot but it is discrimination. It implies that Gay/bi men are riddled with HIV/AIDS. The sad thing is that the majority of people in the country and indeed the world who have HIV are actually heterosexual. Logic........

There is, however, work being done with the Blood Transfussion Board.

[bo_selecta]

Work being done by whom with the BTSB?

10133 rightly points out it is discrimination...is there a case for the Equality Authority to take?

It is a ridiculous generalisation for the BTSB to exclude such a large section of the community, while at the same time they run "guilt-tripping" ads on the TV and Radio saying that blood stocks are low...

[damien]

Has anyone actually contacted the Equality Authority about this ? Be interesting to hear what they have to say.

Also about these statistics about more Heterosexuals in Ireland having HIV than Homosexuals. This is true but its a statistic. Statistics are easily manipulated.

These statistics go by the numbers of people getting treatment and the reason heterosexuals and female heterosexuals in particular have increased is because many of these people come from sub-saharan countries. Its people coming into Ireland from African countries claiming political asylum that have boosted the numbers.

When you take out the refugees the numbers of homosexuals are greater than heterosexuals. (back to previous levels). Matching this against population percentage and other statistics the homosexual community is far more prone to get hiv and aids than any other demographic possibly apart from intravenous drug users.

The percentage of the population who are queer is meant to be say 10% yet the 10% us have more hiv infections than the 90% of the non queer population. So thats at least 10 times more prone to be HIV infected.

Thats very disturbing. I feel the figures that are being released should be studied more and men who have sex with men should be made more aware of the real statistics.

Of course my statistics too are just that. Lies, damned lies and statistics and the oft used saying goes.

[101333]

"The figures published by the National Disease Surveillance Centre (NDSC) highlighted 364 cases of HIV in Ireland in 2002, a 22% increase on the previous year. Heterosexuals accounted for 63.5% of these cases, compared witha figure of 13.7% for injecting drug users and 12.6% for homosexual men....

...but last year thgere was a drop of 37% in the number of gay and bisexual men contracting the disease (HIV). However the number of infections in intravenous drug users increased by 32% in the same period"

Taken from Examiner 23/10/03

[redbulljunkie]

I e-mailed the IBTS a while back (the letter is in a thread here somewhere). They said that they follow international guidelines on who is eligible to give blood. They're excluded from equality laws as well.

[damien]

101333 you have highlighted exactly what I am on about. That selected bit from the Examiner left out this

" In the heterosexual category, 77% of the cases during 2002 were born in sub-Saharan Africa and 10% were born in Ireland "

You can read more detail in the Full Report from the NDSC here

http//www.ndsc.ie/Publications/HIVandAIDSReports/d745.PDF

[solice]

are people who are born in sub saharan africa eligible to give blood?

[bo_selecta]

quoteOriginally posted by solice
are people who are born in sub saharan africa eligible to give blood?



This from the BTSB Website - http//www.ibts.ie/

Safety

The IBTS is committed to supplying Irish hospitals with blood that is as safe as it can be. This means that we test every donation received for a number of diseases including Hepatitis B, HIV and Hepatitis C.

Before coming to one of our clinics to donate, please check if you are eligible to donate

Never give blood if
You are a male who has ever had sex with another male, even if a condom or other protection was used.
You have ever used a needle to take unprescribed drugs, this includes body building drugs.
You or your partner is HIV positive.
You have had jaundice of uncertain cause after the age of 13 years
If you have had hepatitis B or C.

Do not donate blood for 12 months after
You have visited a malarial area .
You have had any part of your body pierced.
You have had a tattoo.
You received acupuncture by a non-medically registered practitioner.
You gave birth to a baby.
You received a blood transfusion.

Do not give blood for 6 months after
You have had major surgery.
You have visited a tropical area.

Do not give blood for 1 month after
You have had contact with infectious diseases (where you have not previously been infected) e.g. chicken pox, mumps, measles or German measles.

Do not give blood for two weeks after
You have recently recovered from the 'flu.

Do not give blood for one week after
You have a cold sore, a cold or a dental extraction.
You have just completed a course of antibiotics.

vCJD and Blood Donation
The IBTS does not accept donations from people who have lived for a total of 5 years or more in the UK between 1980 and 1996. This includes living, working or on holidays. By the UK we mean England, Wales, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

[solice]

i would see it as discrimination

[damien]

www.equality.ie

[bo_selecta]

quoteOriginally posted by damien
www.equality.ie


The Employment Equality Act, 1998 outlaws discriminatory practices in relation to and within employment. The Act prohibits direct and indirect discrimination and victimisation in employment on nine grounds. These are
· gender;
· marital status;
· family status;
· sexual orientation;
· religion;
· age;
· disability;
· race;
· membership of the Traveller Community.


The legislation applies to
· public and private sector employment;
· employment agencies;
· vocational training bodies;
· the publication of advertisements;
· trade unions and professional bodies;
· full-time and part-time workers; and
· collective agreements.



I don't think the BTSB falls into those categories.

[solice]

what are the percentages/stats on other STDIs such as gonorhoea, syphillis etc. as regards infections among hetrosexuals and homosexuals. does anybody know?

[bo_selecta]

quoteOriginally posted by solice
what are the percentages/stats on other STDIs such as gonorhoea, syphillis etc. as regards infections among hetrosexuals and homosexuals. does anybody know?


This is the best I could find
http//www.ndsc.ie/PressReleases/2003/d767.HTML.html

And for a more detailed break down
http//www.ndsc.ie/IDStatistics/QuarterlySTIReports/d604.PDF
(This requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

[damien]

Actually I think the Equality Authorities remit might be stated as that but they'll normally try their best to give advice in other areas.

I think you can bring the BTSB up anyway since I think they are a public body or receive public funding and so have to follow the governments discrimination line which is strict.

Just checked actually and they have a Freedom of Information Officer so they are a government body and they are mandated by the Health Dept.

"The twelve Board members, including the Chairman, are appointed by the Minister for Health & Children."

They can be brought up under Govt discrimation laws and also European ones. Anyone know the websites of other Blood Boards in the UK and Europe and see what their policy is ?

I think they can discriminate (for the safety of those getting blood) but it has to be universal discrimination, not just tied to men or gay men.

[amnesiac]

This discrimination has stood up to many contests before in many jurisdictions. I think the defence used was the high transmission rate during anal sex (due to anal tearing) and the high proportion of gay/bi men infected relative to the number of the staright community affected.

I still think it's rubbish and UCC LGB are actively campaigning and will be tackling the BTSB on their next visit to the campus.

[bo_selecta]

quoteOriginally posted by damien

Anyone know the websites of other Blood Boards in the UK and Europe and see what their policy is ?


THE UK https//secure.blood.co.uk/c11_cant.asp
You should never give blood if
You're a man who's had sex with another man, even "safe sex" using a condom.

Seems it's the same in the USA - http//www.redcross.org/services/biomed/0,1082,0_557_,00.html
According to the Food and Drug Administration, you are at increased risk if
you are a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once;


And from the World Health Organisation Website - http//www.who.int/bct/Main_areas_of_work/BTS/Blood%20Donors.htm
Individuals who have ever suffered from hepatitis B, hepatitis C or AIDS should not donate blood. Those who practice high-risk behaviour for sexually or intravenously (drugs) transmitted viruses should also not donate blood.
Please remember a little of your time can save someone's life
Give blood voluntarily

[redbulljunkie]

It is rediculous alright, as it doesn't take into account the nature of the interaction. From what I can remember prostitutes and people who have sex with other HIV people are only banned for 12 months which is outright rediculous, when a man who's had safe sex with another man is banned for life.

A big problem as well, is that the detailed rules are very inconsistent. One version of the rules is presented on the website, another version is presented when you go to give blood, and miscellaneous versions of ther rules are passed out on leaflets. It's therefore very difficult to present a well put together argument to them. I managed to piece together one for them before but was met (like I said in my previous post) with "oh we just follow international guidelines, and our practices are continually 'under review'".

[LeBaron]

Hey, if they dont want our blood thats thier loss

[solice]

its their loss until you have an accident or you need an operation but you cant because there is a shortage of blood, as there is at the moment, then its your life

[LeBaron]

Opps.... had not thought of that... I thought that as well as being the most witty and inteligent we were also indestructable )

[redbulljunkie]

They should let gay people give blood for use by gay people. Then they can grin at the straight people in the beds next to them, "mmm blood"