NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday issued notice to the central government seeking its response in a plea challenging the exclusion of gay men, transgenders and sex workers from blood donation, Bar and Bench reported.
In 2017, Centre had issued guidelines for blood donor selection and blood donor referral. The guidelines imposed a permanent ban on blood donations from transgender individuals, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men.
The plea filed by Advocate Ibad Mushtaq noted that the guidelines are rooted in outdated and biased perspectives on gay men from the 1980s in the United States.It pointed out that since then, numerous countries, including the USA, the UK, Israel, and Canada, have updated their views on this issue.
Moreover, the plea argued that such a blanket restriction on blood donation is based on the assumption that certain groups are more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It said that the advancements in hematology now enable comprehensive screening of blood donors before transfusion.
The apex court had sought response from the Centre on this issue in 2021 as well after a transgender challenged the 2017 blood donation rules.
“The exclusion of transgender persons, men having sex with men and female sex workers from being blood donors and permanently prohibiting them from donating blood solely on the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation is completely arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory and also unscientific,” the petitioner had said.
In 2017, Centre had issued guidelines for blood donor selection and blood donor referral. The guidelines imposed a permanent ban on blood donations from transgender individuals, female sex workers, and men who have sex with men.
The plea filed by Advocate Ibad Mushtaq noted that the guidelines are rooted in outdated and biased perspectives on gay men from the 1980s in the United States.It pointed out that since then, numerous countries, including the USA, the UK, Israel, and Canada, have updated their views on this issue.
Moreover, the plea argued that such a blanket restriction on blood donation is based on the assumption that certain groups are more likely to have sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). It said that the advancements in hematology now enable comprehensive screening of blood donors before transfusion.
The apex court had sought response from the Centre on this issue in 2021 as well after a transgender challenged the 2017 blood donation rules.
“The exclusion of transgender persons, men having sex with men and female sex workers from being blood donors and permanently prohibiting them from donating blood solely on the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation is completely arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory and also unscientific,” the petitioner had said.
#seeks #Centres #response #plea #blood #donation #transgenders #sex #workers #gay #men #India #News #Times #India
