Canadian Blood Services is kinda gay
In Canada gay men can’t donate blood. Actually, the life ban applies to any man who’s had sex with another man since 1977 whether he identifies as gay, bi, straight or whatever.
I believe this is a homophobic policy and was amused to see the rather gay Facebook profile picture for Ron Vezina, the Director for Media Relations and External Communications for Canadian Blood Services:
Here’s a paragraph from an email I sent him:
“I believe the ban on gay blood donation is a policy rooted in homophobia and not sound medical science. Granted, your personal views may differ, but defending CBS’s homophobic policies on a public forum is part of your job and that’s what you do to make a living. Right or wrong, I believe you are irrevocably linked with this policy and find it ironic that you choose to use a Facebook picture that is, in my opinion, very gay.”
Here’s a paragraph from his response:
“Thanks for your note. First the personal part. My facebook pic is a spoof and it’s on my own personal site. It’s a joke between my friends and I after I was accused of having a very boring profile pic. All those who know me also know that my washboard abs are buried under a couple of loads of laundry!”
What about if a woman had sex with a man who had previously had sex with another man? Or a man had sex with a woman who had at one point had sex with a man who had previously had sex with a man???
Where do we draw the line??????
or.. how about if I decided that I did not want blood from a black person? Since they have the highest incidences of HIV, is this kind of discrimination okay?
“yah, hi, I need a blood transfusion..so can I have a supersize order of A+ Caucasian blood please, to go..thanks!”
It’s not just a Canadian thing. I know that in the US you cannot “donate” plasma if you’ve had gay sex or even made out with another dude. (if you bother to admit to it.) So I’d assume that blood is out of the question too.