Marc Germain, vice president of medical affairs at non-profit blood management organization H?ma-Qu?bec, said in a separate news release.Īccording to H?ma-Qu?bec, there is still the need for an exclusionary period, due to the fact that some groups are 'at risk of infections that can be transmitted through transfusion.' The organization went on to say, 'The frequency of HIV transmission among men who have had sex with other men (MSM) is still higher today than in the general population.' In 2011, approximately 46.7 percent of people living with HIV in the country were MSM. This change is scientifically justified and will in no way endanger the high degree of safety of blood products,? Dr. ?Recent scientific data and advances in transfusion safety led us to review the exclusion of men who have had sex with another man. Thus, gay men can donate blood so long as they haven't had sex with another man within the last five years. The organization released a statement saying Health Canada, the national public health department, gave approval for the lifetime ban to be lifted and replaced with a five-year deferral period. The non-profit Canadian Blood Services, which manages the country's blood supply, announced Wednesday that the policy banning gay men from ever donating blood will end by summer 2013. Canada is lifting a lifetime ban that had prevented gay men from donating blood but some restrictions will still be enforced.
