05/23/2008
Russia Ends Ban on Gay Blood Donation
A two-year campaign by activists came to a successful end yesterday when the Russian Health Ministry ended a ban on blood donation by gays, according to UK Gay News:
"Tatyana Golikova, the Minister of Health and Social Development signed the decree on April 16, it emerged yesterday. The decree amends the rules on blood donations which were implemented on September 14, 2001. According to the amendments, provisions for absolute ban on blood donations by people from the so called groups of high risk (homosexuals, drug addicts and prostitutes) are being repealed. Activists at GayRussia have been campaigning against the ban since April 2006 when they sent a letter to the Ministry of Health and Social Development as well as to the Russian General Prosecutor asking for the repeal of the ban because it contradicted the Russian Constitution and federal legislation. They repeated their demand a year later. The Ministry responded twice to the activists, saying that the amendments will be implemented, and that the issue is being discussed within the Ministry. A third letter was sent to the Ministry last month. Nikolai Alekseev and Nikolai Baev reminded officials that 'since May 1993 homosexual relations between consenting adults in private are not considered a crime in Russia. Since 1999 Russian psychiatry does not consider homosexuality as a mental illness as it joint international classification of mental illnesses'."
Above, an activist is arrested at a Moscow demonstration I posted about last September.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 11:40 AM EST by Andy in Blood Donation, Moscow, News, Russia | Permalink
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Wonderful! A gay-bashing, gay-hating company is ahead of us on this issue!
They recently had a blood drive at my office, and almost everyone was shocked that no gay men could donate. Even a lesbian vice president didn't know (or seem to care, I might add).
Posted by: Paul R | May 23, 2008 12:41:33 PM
Great, Russia is ahead of 3/4s of this country on glbt equality. I hope this puts things in perspective for many Americans who keep asking us to 'please wait.'
Posted by: Ryan | May 23, 2008 2:49:07 PM
Great, now we only need to convince Canada to make it legal for Homosexuals to donate organs and blood.
All the other Boreal countries are doing it!
Posted by: Sky | May 23, 2008 5:47:41 PM
Am I the only one cringing at this? I mean, it is a public health issue for a reason.
Posted by: James | May 23, 2008 8:02:31 PM
Ryan: Russia is not ahead of ANY part of this country on GLBT equality. No rights are protected anywhere on the basis of sexual orientation. Nothing remotely resembling domestic partnership, no adoption, no legal protections. Yes, they no longer jail people for being gay, but they are reputedly still keeping pink lists, just in case.
Furthermore, they seem to have thrown out ALL restrictions on blood donors: for prostitutes and drug addicts as well, so it's hardly a victory for homosexuals. The other groups, though called "risk groups," would seem to me to be more about behavior than status, and risk behavior is something they _should_ be asking about.
In a country as homophobic as Russia, where virtually no one is out in public (i. e. at a blood collection center), it would be impossible to screen out homosexuals anyway. That's apparently what they realized. One official said "the ban is impossible to enforce in practice," so they just got rid of it.
One hopes they are still testing the blood before using it, but in Russia, you never know.
Posted by: Kevinvt | May 24, 2008 5:04:07 AM
Ryan: Russia is not ahead of _any_ part of this country on glbt equality. Basically the only right they have is not to be imprisoned for being gay (which meant they were ahead of parts of the US before 2003). They have nothing resembling domestic partnerships, adoption is not allowed, and there are no protections in the workplace. Virtually no one is out publicly.
While the activists are spinning thisas a victory, the ministry has thrown out the ban for ALL “risk groups” – including drug addicts and prostitutes. In my view, those are behaviors/practices, rather than a status, and they _should_ be screening for risky behaviors. The Russian activists admit that the ban “was used to stigmatise gay people, who were equated to drug addicts and prostitutes” – but that hasn’t changed, since the ban was lifted for all of them.
The real reason the ministry dropped the ban is mentioned on the Russian site, though they don’t seem to acknowledge it: “During a conversation with Nikolai Alekseev – in front of journalists – deputy head of the centre Sergei Oprischenko admitted that the ban could not be realised in practice and should be repealed.” It can’t be realized in practice because Russia is so homophobic that virtually no one is out in public (i. e. at a blood donation center). They’re spinning this as pro-gay, but it’s really just a practical decision that still leaves gay people lumped in with drug addicts and prostitutes.
I hope they’re at least testing the blood, but in the Russian medical system, you never know.
Posted by: Kevinvt | May 24, 2008 5:20:41 AM