International News Canada: Blood Donor Ban UpheldSeptember 10, 2010 In a 187-page decision released Thursday, Justice Catherine Aitken of the Superior Court of Justice upheld the Canadian Blood Services' (CBS) ban on donations by men who have sex with men (MSM). Giving blood is not a civil right on par with voting, marrying or holding public office, Aitken said. Aitken acknowledged that many MSM may feel a sense of injustice over being denied the opportunity to donate blood, a reaction that could be "all the stronger and more poignant" given the history of discrimination against the MSM community. "That impact, however, is not in the same league as the impact on a blood recipient who has to use blood or blood products in order to survive or make life livable and who is asked to accept lower safety standards," she wrote. Aitken awarded $10,000 (US $9,648) in damages to CBS after finding that a gay man, Kyle Freeman, committed negligent misrepresentation when he donated blood as many as 18 times between 1990 and 2002, falsely denying he had ever had sex with another man. In 2002, his donation was discarded after it tested positive for syphilis. In an anonymous e-mail to CBS, which the blood service obtained a court order to trace, Freeman admitted his deception and voiced his objections to the ban. Aitken dismissed Freeman's counterclaim of equality rights against CBS and the federal attorney general. Toronto Star 09.10.2010 This article was provided by CDC National Prevention Information Network. It is a part of the publication CDC HIV/Hepatitis/STD/TB Prevention News Update.
Add Your Comment:
(Please note: Your name and comment will be public, and may even show up in
Internet search results. Be careful when providing personal information! Before adding your comment, please read TheBody.com's Comment Policy.) |