Pride Winnipeg, Canadian Blood Services host 'ally' donor clinic
Clinic also raises awareness of policy barring some gay men from giving blood, says Pride Winnipeg
People in Winnipeg who are eligible to give blood are rolling up their sleeves today for those who can't donate because of a Canada-wide policy that excludes some men who have sex with men.
The city's first "ally blood donor clinic" is taking place at the Canadian Blood Services clinic at 777 William Ave. between 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Monday. It's a joint venture between the blood agency and Pride Winnipeg.
Canadian Blood Services' MSM (men who have sex with men) policy is based on federal government reports that show the MSM population accounts for the majority of all new cases of HIV and AIDS.
The current policy, which has been in place since 2013, bars men who have engaged in sex with other men in the past five years from donating blood.
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"It's a small group of individuals within the MSM category that are causing that stat, but that stat has essentially created this blanket deferral across all MSM individuals that are capturing monogamous MSM individuals who, in reality, are low-risk," said Jonathan Niemczak, president of Pride Winnipeg.
"It kind of reinforces that stereotype that AIDS is a gay disease, when obviously it's not. It also creates a lot of uncomfortable situations when you have, say, a blood donor clinic at your workplace and you have to explain why you can't donate," he said.
'Two gifts' from one donation
Niemczak said he used to donate blood often until he came out of the closet several years ago. A co-worker plans to donate blood on his behalf.
"So it's essentially two gifts: it's a gift for me, because it allows me to essentially still carry out in the donation policy, but it's also a gift to the individual who will also receive my friend's blood," he said.
Niemczak said Canada should follow other countries that are moving to a one-year deferral period instead of the current five years from the time MSM individuals are last sexually active.
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Changing the policy, he said, will at the very least show a willingness from Health Canada and Canadian Blood Services to make progress.
The goal of raising awareness of the restrictive policy is to ultimately identify the high-risk individuals from the low-risk candidates, so that those who are safe to donate can do so, he added.