GenQ - For the not so straight individual

In a recent Struggle against Gay people being banned from donating blood if they have had male-to-male sex within the past 12 months, it appears that Gay activists have won the first round.

The ruling by Australia's Red Cross was recently challenged after a man complained last year about the policy being discriminatory.
The 23 year old assembly worker argued that blood services should consider whether people had safe sex, rather than their sexual preferences

The AIDS virus, HIV, can be passed from an infected person to a healthy person via blood transfusions and while it may be shown in many areas of the World that gay men are the main transmitters of the disease, other countries such as Africa contain the majority of carriers who are heterosexual.

Bans on Gay men in Britain and the United States are also being questioned as well.

As the assembly worker stated: "It's about the global gay community and trying to get this fixed for everyone so everyone has the same rights,it's not about me anymore."

So where will all this end? Have you ever been to donate blood and been refused because of these bans? If you have any enquiries or comments please feel free to email me at rod@queerplanet.com.au or editor@queerplanet.com.au