Rodney Croome . gay advocate

"Public health is the critical issue in blood bank policy"

This media release was issued by the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations on July 4th, 2006.

Public health is the critical issue in blood bank policy, says peak AIDS organisation

A complaint about the Red Cross’s blood donation policies will be considered by the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in Tasmania.

Under existing Red Cross policy, all men who are sexually active with other men are asked to wait 12 months after they last had sex before donating blood.

This policy has become the subject of a discrimination complaint in Tasmania.

"Asking men who have sex with men to defer blood donation for 12 months after their last sex act has reduced the number of available blood donors in this country," said Ian Rankin, president of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO). "However it has also reduced the level of blood-borne viruses out of the blood supply."

The complaint was brought to the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commissioner by Michael Cain of Launceston, Tasmania, who was ineligible to donate blood in 2004. It has now been referred to the state’s Anti-Discrimination Tribunal.

Mr Cain was then in a monogamous sexual relationship and felt that having to wait for twelve months after male-to-male sex was unnecessary, discriminatory and disrespectful.

AFAO and other AIDS organisations to date however have supported the existing policy on public health grounds.

The prevalence of HIV in Australian blood donors under the current policy is 0.0005%, whereas research shows that among Sydney gay men it is around 14 % .

AFAO president Ian Rankin explained that although he considered the current policy reasonable in the context of the Australian HIV epidemic, such policies need be open to review.

"The 12 month deferral policy for men who have sex with men was put in place many years ago when screening technologies were less advanced," Rankin said. "If a review identifies a better way of doing things, we would support reform."

Rankin emphasised that blood donation policy is a complex matter and the chief concern must always be the safety and reliability of the blood supply.

Contacts
Ian Rankin, AFAO President 0406 375 380
Don Baxter, AFAO Executive Director 0419 223 560