OTTAWA – Canadian Blood Services says it is in urgent need of new donors before Labour Day, or else it may have to resort to the drastic measure of reversing an arbitrary ban on receiving donations from men who have had sex with another man in the last year.
“The summer is a particularly slow time for donations,” said territory manager Blaine St. Dierre, “with many of our regular donors away or busy and with us preventing thousands of people from donating because we decided in the 1980s that their blood is poison and have never reconsidered.”
Type 0 blood is in particular demand because it is compatible with other blood types, unless the blood has been in the body of a man who is sexually active with other men, in which case it is completely useless.
“We are approaching an emergency situation here. If we don’t reach our 22,000 donor target we may be at real risk of having to do the right thing,” added St. Dierre.
To increase the donor amount CBS recommends bringing a friend with you to donate. But under no circumstances may you have sex with that person, unless one or both of you is not a man. In that case they recommend really going to town on each other. This is in like with CBS longstanding policy that men who engage in casual sex with multiple female partners are considered “not risky,” while women who engage in casual sex with multiple female partners are considered “hot.”
Blood donation appointments can be made via the Canadian Blood Services website, through the GiveBlood app or by calling 1-888-2-NOHOMO.
