Gay men push to be blood brothers

Campaigners believe the ban on sexually active gay men being blood donors is an archaic hangover from the 1980s HIV epidemic and creates the stigma that their blood might be dirty or unclean. Andre Chumko reports.

All Troy Mihaka wanted to do as a teen was to give blood like his classmates were able to. But because he was sexually active, the 16-year-old was forced to concoct a lie, faking a cold to avoid admitting to his peers and teachers at his Catholic school’s blood drive that he liked other boys, and wouldn’t be able to donate anything because of it.

Years later, Mihaka, the front-of-house manager at Wellington’s BATS Theatre, is still unable to give blood – even in the middle of a global pandemic.

In New Zealand, men who have sex with men (MSM) must wait 12 months without having any form of sex – including oral sex – with or without a condom, before being able to donate. The policy also applies to women who have had sex with a MSM over the same period.

Mihaka believes the policy is an archaic hangover from the 1980s HIV epidemic, and does nothing but contribute to harmful stereotypes that gay men’s blood is dirty or unclean.

He’s set up a petition asking for laws to urgently change the turnaround time to be three months – the amount of time it takes for an HIV test to return. Covid-19, he says, is the perfect excuse to take a hard look at the policy.

In 2014, New Zealand reduced blood donor deferral from five years to 12 months for individuals whose circumstances carried a greater probability of transmission of infections through blood transfusion.

Since then, countries including Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom have shortened that even further.

In April, amid an urgent need for blood, even the United States eased restrictions on its bloodgiving policy, allowing gay men to wait three months instead of 12.

Mihaka thinks it’s bizarre other nations have made moves ahead of NZ – especially because the Blood Service here predicted a drop in donations as the country headed into lockdown.

Fortunately, a drop-off didn’t happen, and blood stocks remain at healthy levels. The service needs to collect 3500 donations a week to be able to meet demand.

However, Asuka Burge, Blood Service spokeswoman, says it expects demand for blood and blood products to move towards pre-Covid levels through this month, as hospitals return to a more regular schedule.

‘‘As we start to enjoy more freedoms, we are . . . asking people to find time in their diaries and book an appointment to donate blood over the coming weeks,’’ Burge says.

Mihaka says the continued need and importance for blood could be met by the plenty of gay men who are willing but simply unable due to the law. Based on data from the New Zealand Health Survey, Mihaka estimates that if every gay and bisexual man in NZ were to donate once per year, it could result in an additional 120,000 units of blood.

‘‘Having 1000 people already sign the petition shows how important this is for a lot of people. Comments . . . have been overwhelmingly positive, a lot have been surprised at how many people did

‘‘It still leaves that stigma that HIV is a negative thing . . . and a gay man’s disease.’’ Troy Mihaka