Let gay men donate blood, says lawmaker
Raymond Chan argues other countries' donor services have stopped bar on homosexual men
The Hospital Authority, which helps the Hong Kong Red Cross manage its blood donation services, is studying the feasibility of allowing homosexual men to donate blood, according to a gay lawmaker who was barred from donation yesterday.
People Power lawmaker Raymond Chan Chi-chuen tried to donate blood at a donation service in the Legislative Council yesterday.
Many countries already allow homosexuals to donate blood if they have not had sex in a year
"I was given a questionnaire in which a question asks if I have had sex with a man. I ticked the box," Chan said. "Then a doctor explained to me that statistics and foreign examples show that blood from men who have had sex with men show a high risk [of HIV]."
The doctor then told Chan that some countries had relaxed the rules and now permit homosexual men who have not had sex over a certain period of time to donate blood.
The authority is also studying this possibility but no conclusion has been drawn yet, Chan said.
He said the authority should only bar those who have had unsafe sex and were involved in promiscuity instead of "unreasonably" barring all men who have had sex with other men.