The pilot project in Calgary and London will use a behaviour-based screening questionnaire in lieu of policies that single out queer and trans people<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week, Canadian Blood Services (CBS) announced that they have received authorization from Health Canada to expand their plasma donation eligibility program, implementing a new behaviour-based screening questionnaire in select cities that will no longer explicitly exclude gay and bisexual men who have sex with men (MSM) and some trans people. The new question asks if in the last three months donors have not had a new sexual partner and if their partner has not had sex with another partner. These new questionnaires are being used only in two donation centres\u2014one in Calgary, and another in London, Ontario.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\u2019s one more crack in the dam when it comes to MSM blood donations, which were originally banned outright and now require a three-month deferral period. CBS has already indicated that they will be submitting new screening questions to Health Canada\u2019s regulatory arm before the end of the year<\/a> not only for plasma donation, but also whole blood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHealth Canada approved the submission by Canadian Blood Services for changes to plasma donation in September 2021, and I am pleased to see this much needed step toward a more inclusive donation model,\u201d writes Minister of Health Patty Hajdu in an emailed response. \u201cThis is just a step, however, and so I am hopeful this work will be expanded quickly to other sites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The federal government previously provided $3 million in research funding to CBS and H\u00e9ma-Qu\u00e9bec in order to eliminate the blood donation ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c\u2018This is just a step, and so I am hopeful this work will be expanded quickly to other sites,\u2019 Hajdu says.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe anticipate receiving a submission from Canadian Blood Services later this year in order for them to implement a more inclusive behaviour-based screening for all blood donors and remove the three month deferral period that is currently in place,\u201d Hajdu adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Plasma donation, unlike whole blood donation, is primarily used for emergency situations, through a process that separates the plasma from other blood components. But plasma donations are already a bone of contention in Canada, as a debate rages over whether to allow paid donations\u2014an instrumental factor in Canada\u2019s tainted blood scandal in the 1980s. As the demand for plasma increases, the consideration for incentivizing donations with some kind of compensation is that if there is not enough of a voluntary plasma supply in Canada, it would be sourced from the United States, where donors are paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n