Canada Lifts Restriction On Gay Men Donating Blood

CTV News reports:

A policy change years in the making, on Thursday Health Canada approved Canadian Blood Services’ submission to eliminate the three-month donor deferral period for gay and bisexual men as well as some other folks in the LGBTQ2S+ community.

Moving away from a blanket ban, the national blood donor organization will be able to screen all donors regardless of gender or sexuality. Instead, donors will be screened based on their sexual behaviours.

Canadian Blood Services (CBS) is expected to introduce the new behaviour-based questionnaire approach by Sept. 30. It will apply to both blood and plasma donations.

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