Gay Men In Canada Banned From Donating Blood...

It's a rather risky attempt at creating a 'peace-of-mind guarantee' that the blood you receive will not put your own future health at risk.

What is problematic is that in order for such a ban to be effective, gay men in Canada would have to identify themselves as such. How is it legislated that if questioned, the gay individual must respond truthfully? A lot of medical centers will pay donors for blood. A lot of blood-donors expect to be paid for their contribution. (And if you receive a blood transfusion, you'll be paying a much greater price....) What is to prevent a needy but gay individual from telling an itsy-bitsy lie in order to obtain a cash reward for his donation of blood? Or, does Canada utilize the super-secret Gay-Detecto-Meter on all blood donor candidates, to weed out the potential risk to the health of other gay or non-gay patients?


Bottom line: Don't accept a blood transfusion if the blood has been harvested in Australia, unless you know how long a virus can survive in the human blood stream...

Gay men can't donate blood in the US either. It's been that way since the 80's. It's a little odd that they've kept the ban, since right now the group at highest risk is minority women in their 20's and 30's here, but it is what it is.

I forgot to mention that in my OP so I am glad you pointed it out. The experts on the news were saying as of today, the highest risk of HIV/AIDS are women in their 20-30 age range. They did not specify race that I heard. So if gay men are not the highest risk and if they meet criteria and since screening is much better now a days, I am not understanding the issue but I am not a doctor. I am sure other experts might disagree but the two on tv, sure seemed to think it was not a problem.

Are you sure? My cousin is gay and he donates blood all the time.