Health Canada has approved a request from the Canadian Blood Services and Hema-Quebec to reduce the blood donation ban on men who have sex with men from one year to three months.
Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor made the announcement on Parliament Hill Wednesday morning.
Liberal MP and special adviser to the prime minister on LGBTQ2 issues Randy Boissonnault said this development is a ‘big win” for the LGBTQ community.
“The research continues into the behavioural-based model, we’re still working on the file… it demonstrates what happens when government follows the science,” Boissonnault said.
In 2016 the Liberals’ earmarked $3 million for research on behaviour-based donation policies, and in 2018 announced $7.1 million over five years towards increasing access to testing and treatment for HIV and hepatitis among gay, bisexual, transgender, two-spirit, and queer men.
According to the federal government, in 2017, a total of 2,402 new cases of HIV were reported in Canada, half of whom were men who have sex with men.
