Liberal.ca :: Media Releases

Liberal.ca :: Media Releases
Conservatives’ Ban of Organ Donations by Gay Men Done in Secret
January 10, 2008
OTTAWA – The Conservative government’s decision to secretly implement a policy that excludes gay men from donating organs is yet another example of the shady way that this government operates, said Liberal Health Critic Robert Thibault.

“The government claims it widely consulted a variety of groups about this change and there were no concerns expressed about it,” said Mr. Thibault. “And yet here we have the head of Canada’s largest organ transplant program and two of the biggest organizations representing the gay community saying that they knew nothing about it.

“Just who did the government consult? It is very frustrating for Canadians to have a federal government that continuously operates in secrecy, and makes false claims about developing public policy in partnership with Canadians,” he said.

It was only through the media that the public learned that Health Canada recently implemented new regulations to determine who can donate organs.

The new regulations exclude any man who has had a same-sex partner in the previous five years from donating tissue. Doctors have expressed concerns that such a ban could lead to an increase of deaths by shrinking an already dwindling pool of donors.

Dr. Gary Levy, head of Canada’s largest organ transplant program at Toronto University’s Health Network, told CBC that he was not informed of the change, or even that it was being considered.

He called the new regulations “too tight” and “too restrictive,” estimating that seven out of every 100 organ donors at his hospital every year will be rejected because of them. (CBC, Jan. 7, 2008)

Both PFLAG Canada and Egale Canada, two of the largest organizations representing the gay and lesbian community, have said they were not consulted during the drafting of this new regulation.

Egale Executive Director Helen Kennedy called it “discriminatory,” saying the government is “perpetrating stereotypes.” They have demanded that the government suspend the policy. (Egale Press Release, Jan. 8, 2008)

Mr. Thibault pointed out that high-risk sexual behaviour and not sexual orientation is what puts an individual at risk for contracting diseases. In fact, he added, the statistics show that women are becoming the fastest growing population to contract HIV and AIDS - not gay men.

“Why is this government putting unnecessary barriers in place that will stop doctors from using organs they otherwise would?” he said. “They are stopping donors from donating organs at a time when people are dying from lack of access to needed organs.

“This is simply more evidence of ideological discrimination. In addition to cuts to HIV/AIDS community programs, opposition to the INSITE safe injection site and the elimination of the Safer Tattooing Practices Initiative, we see once again that the Conservative government makes its decisions based on ideology rather than empirical fact.”

Mr. Thibault called on the government to allow donor agencies to continue the policy of screening based on individual behavioural risk, rather than a blanket policy of exclusion based on sexual orientation.