Kamloops and District Labour Council supports the “End the Blood Ban” Campaign
In 2015, the Liberal Government promised to end the blood donation ban. This blood ban discriminates against gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men and prevents them from donating blood. The government promised to move to implement a behaviour-based model that would eliminate the ban. In 2019 the Liberal government reduced the ban limit from one year to 3 months but this did not go far enough.
Canada’s health care system faces a chronic shortage of donated blood and blood products The outdated and discriminatory blood donation policies are based on stigma, not science and their continued existence represents a broken promise from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the governing Liberals. While Canadian Blood Services continues to run ad campaigns that stress the increasing need for blood donations, this discriminatory ban continues to block donations from a significant portion of the population. The Government needs to stop the blood ban immediately.
How can you help?
Support the Thompson Rivers University Student Union end the blood ban campaign. Go to https://trusu.ca/advocacy/end-the-ban/ to learn more. Then send an email to the Federal Minister of Health, the Honourable Patty Hajdu and tell her the government must end the ban now.
