加拿大血液服務機構結束同性戀「血液禁令」，引入基於行為的篩查
資料來源： 瑪麗.伍爾夫 / 發布日期：2022 年 4 月 28 日 / Canadian Press；財團法人台灣紅絲帶基金會編譯
該機構表示，詢問性行為而不是性取向，將使其更能夠可靠地評估可以透過輸液傳播如愛滋病毒等的感染風險。
2020 年 8 月 4 日，一名男子在安大略省倫敦的加拿大血液服務捐贈中心獻血。照片由 MIKE HENSEN / Postmedia Network / Files
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渥太華——加拿大衛生部已批准終止限制男男性行為者在三個月內捐獻血液製品的政策，這一改變受到 LGBTQ 倡導者的歡迎，但受到批評——包括總理，他在多年前即承諾要結束該政策——因為姍姍來遲。
「已經很久了」，總理賈斯汀.特魯多周四在渥太華說。
「目前的做法是歧視性和錯誤的，這是推進我們血液供應安全和非歧視性做法的一個重要里程碑」。
加拿大血液服務局已要求加拿大衛生部允許其在篩選潛在捐贈者時放棄有關性別或性取向的問題，而改為詢問高危性行為。
到 9 月底，將詢問潛在的捐贈者在過去三個月內是否有新的或多個性伴侶，無論他們的性別或性取向如何。
如果是，他們會被問到是否與這些伴侶中的任何一個發生過肛交。如果有的話，他們需要在該活動後等待三個月才能捐血。
聯邦血液機構表示，關注性行為而不是性取向，將使其能夠更可靠地評估可以透過輸血傳播的感染風險，例如愛滋病毒。
它還詢問潛在的捐贈者是否有紋身或靜脈注射毒品，以幫助預防透過輸血傳播的疾病，包括愛滋病毒。
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「終於」！Egale Canada（註1）在推特上寫道。
「我們絕對歡迎加拿大衛生部今天決定授權加拿大血液服務機構終止針對雙靈（註2）、同性戀、雙性戀和酷兒男性、跨性別女性和其他男男性行為者的歧視性血液和血漿捐贈禁令。姍姍來遲！」
1980 年代污染血液醜聞事件後果的一部分，便是在1992 年實施了「終身禁令」。就在當時，數以千計的加拿大人在接受了受污染的血液製品後感染了愛滋病毒和肝炎。它並於 2013年縮減為5年。
自由黨承諾在 2015 年大選期間結束對男男性行為者獻血的禁令，這使得特魯多政府上台取得政權。
期限遞延在 2016 年降至一年，然後在 2019 年降至三個月。自由黨分別在 2019 年和 2021 年的選舉中都承諾完全取消期限。
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加拿大的血荒！ 下議院議員埃里克.鄧肯 (MP Eric Duncan) 表示：男同性戀者應該能夠捐血
特魯多周四表示，該政策至少應在十年前結束。他說，他的政府投資了 500 萬美元來研究改變獻血規則的安全方面，多項科學報告證明「我們的血液供應將繼續安全」。
自由黨議員羅伯.奧利芬特（Rob Oliphant）分享了他的第一個伴侶在 30 年前死於愛滋病，週四表示，現在捐贈規則的變化意味著「我的血液和這個房間裡任何人的血液一樣好」。他稱這是在人權和「結束污名」方面上向前邁出的一步。
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加拿大血液服務局的女發言人凱瑟琳.劉易斯（Catherine Lewis）表示，該機構知道它需要恢復與 LGBTQ 社群的連結，因為該政策已經到位。
她說：「這一標準的改變具有科學依據，將使我們能夠更加包容地了解誰可以捐贈，同時一如既往地確保加拿大患者的安全、充足的血液和血漿供應」。
「這一變化是重要的一步，但我們知道要建立信任並修復與 LGBTQ 社群的關係，我們仍有大量工作要做，我們承諾這樣做」。
第一位公開其為同性戀者被選為保守黨議員的安大略省國會議員埃里克.鄧肯（Eric Duncan），他說「這樣的歧視不應該花這麼長時間來解決」。
「最後，經過多次延誤，加拿大離結束這個國家長期存在的歧視性血液禁令又近了一步」，鄧肯說。 「經過多年的延遲，我們距離這一改變生效至少還有五個月的時間」。
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為LGBTQ 爭取權利的批評者新民主黨議員 Randall Garrison 和 Blake Desjarlais 在一份聯合聲明中表示，「最終允許男男性行為者獻血，是男男性行為者、社區成員早該取得的勝利。以及多年來不知倦怠地推動政府採取行動的盟友」。
加拿大血液服務公司首席執行長 Graham Sher 博士在簡報中承認，一些獻血者可能會因為被問及他們的性伴侶以及他們是否有過肛交而感到冒犯。
但他說，所有捐贈者，無論他們的性取向如何，都會被問到關於「高風險性行為」的相同問題，而不僅僅是男男性行為者。
他說這些問題是有道理的，因為「肛交是愛滋病毒的高危因素」。
Sher 說，該機構對這一改變係採取實證為基礎的方法，根據加拿大和世界各地的研究以及包括流行病學研究和統計建模。
他說，這種方法與英國所採用的方法非常相似。
Sher 說，從捐獻的血液中感染疾病的風險「非常、非常低」，並且有幾層篩查，包括 HIV 篩查，以及在使用血液樣本前進行淨化過程。
他說，篩查問題的改變將導致愛滋病毒的傳播「沒有增加可測量的風險」。
加拿大衛生部表示，它召集了一組血液安全科學和醫學專家，就聯邦血液機構的要求作出決定。它在一份聲明中說「今天的授權是在全國範圍內建立更具包容性的獻血系統的重要里程碑，並建立在近年來取得的科學證據進展的基礎上」。
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註1. Egale Canada是加拿大一個領先的民間組織，以改善加拿大 2SLGBTQI 者的生活，並加強全球對 2SLGBTQI 問題的反應。 Egale 透過研究、教育、意識和法律宣傳為公共政策提供信息、激發文化變革以及促進人權和包容來實現這一目標。
註2. Two-Spirit雙靈（英語：Two-spirit或two spirit、twospirited等）是一個現代泛北美原住民的概括性詞彙，被一些北美原住民用來描述社區中滿足傳統第三性別（或其他性別變體）的原住民在他們的文化中的禮儀和社會角色。雙靈一詞是在 1990 年在溫尼伯舉行的原住民男女同性戀國際聚會上創造的，「專門用來區分美洲原住民/第一民族與非原住民並使其保持距離」。 創造一個「雙靈」的主要目的是新術語是為了鼓勵替換過時且被認為具有冒犯性的人類學術語 berdache。
Canadian Blood Services to end gay ‘blood ban,’ bring in behaviour-based screening
The agency says asking about sexual behaviour, rather than sexual orientation, will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections such as HIV that can be transmitted through infusions.
Author of the article:
Canadian Press
Marie Woolf / Publishing date: Apr 28, 2022
A man donates blood at the Canadian Blood Services donor centre in London, Ont, Aug. 4, 2020. PHOTO BY MIKE HENSEN /Postmedia Network / Files
OTTAWA — Health Canada has approved an end to policy that restricts men who have sex with men from donating blood products for three months, a change welcomed by LGBTQ advocates but criticized — including by the prime minister, who promised years ago to end it — as long overdue.
“It’s been a long time coming,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday in Ottawa.
“The current approach was discriminatory and wrong, and this is a significant milestone in moving forward on both the safety of our blood supply but also non-discriminatory practices.”
Canadian Blood Services had asked Health Canada to allow it to scrap questions about gender or sexuality when screening potential donors and ask about higher-risk sexual behaviour instead.
By the end of September, potential donors will be asked if they have had new or multiple sexual partners in the last three months, no matter their gender or sexual orientation.
If yes, they would then be asked whether they have had anal sex with any of those partners. If they have, they would need to wait three months since that activity before donating blood.
The federal blood agency said focusing on sexual behaviour, not orientation, will allow it to more reliably assess the risk of infections, such as HIV, that can be transmitted through transfusions.
It also asks potential donors if they have been tattooed or engaged in intravenous drug use, as a way to help prevent diseases, including HIV, being transmitted through a transfusion.
“Finally!” Egale Canada wrote on Twitter.
“We definitely welcome today’s decision by Health Canada to authorize Canadian Blood Services to end their discriminatory blood and plasma donation ban targeting Two-Spirit, gay, bisexual, and queer men, trans women, and other men who have sex with men. Long overdue!”
A lifetime ban had been put into place in 1992 as part of the fallout from the tainted blood scandal in the 1980s. That was when thousands of Canadians were exposed to HIV and hepatitis after receiving contaminated blood products. It was reduced to five years in 2013.
The Liberals promised to end the ban on men who have sex with men donating blood during the 2015 election campaign that brought the Trudeau government to power.
The deferral period dropped to one year in 2016 and then three months in 2019. The Liberals promised in both the 2019 and 2021 elections to eliminate it entirely.
CANADIAN BLOOD CRISIS! MP Eric Duncan: Gay men should be able to donate
Trudeau said Thursday that the policy should have ended at least a decade ago. He said his government invested $5 million to research the safety aspects of changing blood donation rules and multiple scientific reports had proven “our blood supply will continue to be safe.”
Liberal MP Rob Oliphant, who shared that his first partner had died of AIDS 30 years ago, said Thursday the change in donation rules now meant that “my blood is as good as anyone’s blood in this room.” He called it a step forward in human rights and “ending stigma.”
Catherine Lewis, a spokeswoman for Canadian Blood Services, said the agency knows it needs to restore connections with the LGBTQ communities over having had the policy in place.
“This criteria change is science-informed and will enable us to be more inclusive about who can donate while, as always, ensuring safe, adequate blood and plasma supplies for patients in Canada,” she said.
“This change is a significant step, but we know we still have considerable work to do to build trust and repair relationships with LGBTQ communities, and we commit to doing so.”
Ontario MP Eric Duncan, the first openly gay man to be elected as a Conservative, said “discrimination like this should not take this long to resolve.”
“Finally, after multiple delays, Canada is one step closer to ending the long-standing and discriminatory blood ban in this country,” Duncan said. “After years of delay, we are still at least five months away from this change taking effect.”
NDP MPs Randall Garrison and Blake Desjarlais, who are the critics for LGBTQ rights, said in a joint statement that “finally allowing men who have sex with men to donate blood is a long-overdue victory for men who have sex with men, community members and allies who have worked tirelessly for years to push the government to act.”
Dr. Graham Sher, CEO of Canadian Blood Services, acknowledged in a briefing that some donors may take offence at being asked about their sexual partners and whether they have had anal sex.
But he said all donors, regardless of their sexual orientation, would be asked the same questions about “high-risk sexual behaviour,” not just men who have sex with men.
He said the questions were justified because “anal sex is a significantly higher risk factor” for HIV.
Sher said the agency is taking an evidence-based approach to the change based on research in Canada and around the world, including epidemiological studies and statistical modelling.
He said the approach is very similar to the one taken in the United Kingdom.
Sher said the risk of contracting a disease from donated blood is “exceedingly, exceedingly low” and there are several layers of screening, including for HIV, as well as blood purification before samples are used.
He said the change in screening questions would lead to “no measurable increase in the risk” of HIV transmission.
Health Canada said it convened a group of scientific and medical experts on blood safety to inform its decision on the request by the federal blood agency.
“Today’s authorization is a significant milestone toward a more inclusive blood donation system countrywide, and builds on progress in scientific evidence made in recent years,” it said in a statement.