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Portugal's gays still banned from giving blood

bloodOne year ago, Portugal’s newspapers reacted to a ban on homosexual and bisexual blood donors - “unless they were celibate” being one of the more noteworthy utterances from the health ministry.

This week, clinical standards are 'being established' by the Directorate General for Health (DGS) but these have not yet been discussed with user groups and organisations.

In response to a Left Bloc parliamentary questions today, the Assistant Secretary of State for Health promised public consultation ‘shortly’ and to hear from "civil society organisations" but says the necessary procedures are delayed “until the end of 2017.”

Therefore, for the time being, homosexual and bisexual donors remain prohibited from giving blood despite this being discriminatory.  

The previous coalition government sought an end the exclusion of gay and bisexual donors, but people still are being turned away from blood donor centres.

Back in 2010, the Left Bloc sought an end to penalising people for being gay by submitting a petition to parliament which aimed “to eliminate discrimination and lay down the rules for the suspension of blood donors with risky behavior, rather than the concept of banning those in a risk group."

The Ministry of Health is now waffling on to cover up why it has done little in the past 12 months: "the goal is to align the proposal" rules "with the best international practices," including "discussions with the organisations in civil society, an important factor for the credibility of the decisions that will be taken."
 
The last government told the Heath Directorate to get something together by October 2015, which it failed to do.

The draft standards document was never drafted, blood collection sites continue to discriminate based on the sexual orientation of willing donors and the parliamentary resolution remains unfulfilled.

The Left Bloc also is not impressed with the current working group within the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplants which wants the total suspension of blood donations from men who have sex with men, but recommends a partial exclusion if the donor has not had sex for a long time.

For the left Bloc, "this solution suffers the same stigma, it considers homosexuality and bisexuality a risk and perpetuates prejudice."

 

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Comments  

+2 #11 JJ in Gibraltar 2016-08-25 20:53
Quoting JJ in Gibraltar:
Quoting Verjinie:
Am given to understand that homosexual males have an extra Y chromosome, although I have no idea whether this is transmittable via blood/serum/corpuscles..


Wow! That's nothing short of amazing, V!

And now please show us all even just one verifiable, peer-reviewed, published in a reputable scientific journal paper that backs up your wacky theory.

Just one will do ...


Come on V - just one, please?

Well, I thought not, because there isn't one.

All you haters on here really ought to be ashamed of yourselves. If you meet me in the street, please don't say hello!
+4 #10 JJ in Gibraltar 2016-08-22 23:49
Well Ed, now you know a lot more about your readers.

As I said yesterday - homophobes are out in force. That's astonishing in this day and age, and really makes me wonder and worry about the so-called "ex-pat" (in fact "immigrant", whether or not they like the accurate word) influx here in southern Portugal/Spain.
-1 #9 chez 2016-08-22 12:58
Quoting Celia60:
Looks like the Gay mafia have taken offence judging by the number of minus's now accompanying the comments. I personally would welcome a return to the Victorian era and it's standards of morality, sadly lacking in the 21st century.

The heterosexual mafia are fighting back :P
+4 #8 Celia60 2016-08-22 12:02
Looks like the Gay mafia have taken offence judging by the number of minus's now accompanying the comments. I personally would welcome a return to the Victorian era and it's standards of morality, sadly lacking in the 21st century.
-5 #7 JJ in Gibraltar 2016-08-21 20:56
Quoting Verjinie:
Am given to understand that homosexual males have an extra Y chromosome, although I have no idea whether this is transmittable via blood/serum/corpuscles..


Wow! That's nothing short of amazing, V!

And now please show us all even just one verifiable, peer-reviewed, published in a reputable scientific journal paper that backs up your wacky theory.

Just one will do ...
-5 #6 JJ in Gibraltar 2016-08-21 20:52
So disappointing to see the homophobes out in force here.

People - the Victorian era is over! And your grasp of science is at least thirty years behind the times.

Shame on you all.
-4 #5 Verjinie 2016-08-20 13:28
Am given to understand that homosexual males have an extra Y chromosome, although I have no idea whether this is transmittable via blood/serum/corpuscles..
Of course, risks have to be minimised - look at what the UN has (after 6yrs) finally admitted to in Haiti, however the disease was transmitted..
+5 #4 SF 2016-08-20 11:24
Quoting Maximillian:
It's not about the fact that they are gay,

I disagree It has every bit to do with the sexual orientation and the manner of the sex that is performed that increases the risk of infection and the transmission of.
+7 #3 SF 2016-08-20 11:21
"... blood collection sites continue to discriminate based on the sexual orientation of willing donors..."
It should read - blood collection sites continue to use common sense by refusing to accept blood from a group whose sexual orientation is well known to transmit disease.
Don't you just hate political correctness, tell it how it is! The risk of infection, hepatitis B or syphilis, is greater if you are a homosexual or bisexual man. Why run the risk? To please a minority that shows no control in the number of times and/or number of partners?
+13 #2 Maximillian 2016-08-20 11:01
It's not about the fact that they are gay, it's about the fact that they are at higher risk. Never mentioned, but the same goes for people who've had cancer. Even if cured they are exempted. I feel it's only fair to reduce risks.

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