Solution donor shortage right under nose of Canadian Blood Services

Earlier this week I reported that Canadian Blood Services needs more blood donors (click here to read the article)

The following article proofs that some solutions to that problem are right under their noses and it might be time to do something about the ancient rules and regulations for giving blood!

Namely, Some Canadian university groups are speaking out loud over what they feel are outdated and discriminatory screening practices for blood donors.

Several student groups and gay rights activists say they're particularly concerned about Canadian Blood Services' lifetime ban against blood donations from gay men.
Their concerns largely stem from sections of a lengthy questionnaire potential donors need to fill out.

Question No. 18 of the blood agency's questionnaire asks potential male donors if they have had sex with a man, even once since 1977.
If the answer is yes, even if the person has practiced safe sex and is in a monogamous relationship, they are instantly deemed ineligible to donate.

"It makes people believe that, yes, gay men are likely to have HIV, likely to have AIDS," Andrew Brett, advocacy and outreach co-ordinator at the University of Toronto's student union in Mississauga, told CBC News.
"It kind of makes it official, and it's like official discrimination."

The student federation doesn't condone banning blood drives on campuses. But Brett said some campuses have canceled their blood donor days.

Lorna Tessier, director of public relations with Canadian Blood Services in Ottawa, said she hasn't heard of any cancellations.

Canadian Blood Services said it's reliant on student donations.

"We are very dependent on being able to do blood donor clinics in universities," said Dr. Margaret Fearon, executive director of medical microbiology at the blood agency.
She said students are mistaken to see the policy as a gay rights issue.

"People who receive blood have a right to safe blood. People do not have a right to donate blood. It's a privilege, really."

Many countries are struggling with the issue, in addition to Canada.
In the U.S., a lifetime ban on men who have had homosexual encounters was upheld earlier this year, even though the American Red Cross recommended a change.

According to Tessier, Canadian Blood Services has begun research into whether more specific questions about risky behavior would be a better addition to the screening process.

Dr. Steven Klinman, senior medical advisor with the American Association of Blood Banks, said that a lifetime ban isn't necessary because HIV testing is so accurate now.
But he also said recent sex between men still presents a risk blood agencies can't ignore.

Source: CBC News

Related Article:

Canadian Blood Services needs 'New Blood', literally!

Canadian Blood Services needs 'New Blood', literally!

As we continue through the holiday season, there's one gift that's always in demand: blood.

About every minute, someone in Canada needs a blood transfusion.

It's disturbing to learn then that a sizable portion of the population can't donate needed blood or bone marrow because they don't speak English or French.

Apparently, Canadian Blood Services can't accept blood from these people because of concern over their inability to accurately answer sensitive questions about their health and lifestyle that could affect the safety of the blood supply.

The service says it doesn't have either the staff to translate applications or nurses who speak multiple languages.

In a province where more than a quarter of the residents don't speak English or French as a first language, it's a significant issue.

Especially since the best chance of finding a match for some products like bone marrow is within a recipient's own ethnic group.

We'd have thought Canadian Blood Services would try harder to accommodate our multi-racial and multi-lingual reality. The language barrier isn't one that can't be overcome.

As far as safety is concerned, while many questions asked of donors help to pre-screen blood, afterwards the blood itself is tested for hepatitis, AIDS and a variety of other diseases.

The existing pool of blood donors is becoming older and fewer.
If the Canadian Blood Service hopes to do its job in the future, it's going to have to make changes.

We need new blood, literally!

This year, in British Columbia , Canadian Blood Services will need to collect 1,200 red blood cells or platelet donations by January 4th to help meet hospital needs.

For all of Canada, call Canadian Blood Services at 1-888-2-DONATE (1-888-236-6283) for blood donor clinic information, eligibility information or to book an appointment.

Source: Chilliwack Times

Death Calgary baby raises awareness need for bone marrow and blood donors

The heartbreaking story of a baby from Calgary called Evan Pogubila who died from a rare immunodeficiency disease, captivated the whole of Calgary this year.

While the Pogubila family is still coping with grief, Evan has left behind a legacy his family is carrying forward, increasing awareness of the need for blood and bone marrow donors to help save lives.

"It's just before bedtime, but little Jordan Pogubila shows no signs of slowing down for the night. Wearing a pink sleeper covered in butterflies, her strawberry blond hair cut into an adorable bob, she captivates all around her as she dances to the pop song playing on her parents' stereo," says her mom Melanie as she smiles at her exuberant toddler.

If life had gone the way it should, the 19-month-old's twin brother Evan would be right beside her, bopping along to the music in that amusing toddler way.

Instead, a box sitting on the living room side table, his photograph on the outside and his cremains within, look down upon this happy family scene.

Last June 26th, the wide-eyed heart breaker of a baby died, after a courageous battle against severe combined immunodeficiency disease, also known as SCIDs.

Evan was the only known child in Western Canada with SCIDs, a condition first brought to the public eye in 1976 in a TV movie called The Boy in the Plastic Bubble.

Like David Vetter, the real-life boy who inspired the film, Evan spent most of his short life living in solitude from the rest of the world.

Caused by a genetic defect, the condition is the most rare, and deadliest, of the primary immunodeficiencies.
Any contact with others, including his twin Jordan, could compromise what little immune system Evan had.

Read the full article here