Cars Mania

Ottawa, Ontario, Canada (AHN) – The Ontario Superior Court upheld Thursday a policy of Canadian Blood Services to ban gay men from donating blood. Justice Catherine Aitken dismissed the constitutional challenge raised by gay groups because the CBS is not a government body, so it was not in violation of the country’s constitution.

Gay men have been banned since 1977 from donating blood. That is considered the landmark year when HIV entered North America.

While Aitken acknowledged that the ban on blood donation appears to be a form of discrimination against gays and bisexuals because they are denied the opportunity to fully integrate into Canadian society through acts of kindness, the risk of lowering safety standards on blood recipients could not be taken.

The Canadian AIDS Society and gay right group Egale Canada said they were disappointed with the court’s decision. The CBS said it was satisfied with the court ruling because it validated their screening processes.

CBS had filed a lawsuit against Kyle Freeman, a 38-year old gay man from Thornhill, Ontario, who lied when he donated blood. Freeman was penalized by the court $10,000 for negligent misrepresentation. Freeman filed a countersuit as a result of that ruling.

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