Since 1983, a man who has had sex with another man during his life, even with a condom, has not been allowed to donate blood in France. This permanent exclusion is linked to the risk of HIV contamination of this population potentially more exposed to the virus.
For the European Court of Justice, which looked into the case of a homosexual forbidden to donate blood in Metz, this permanent exclusion can be justified, but under strict conditions.
“French legislation is likely to discriminate against male homosexuals on the basis of sexual orientation” has thus estimated the European Court of Justice. She added that if “the exclusion provided for by French regulations contributes to reducing to a minimum the risk of transmission of an infectious disease”, the “principle of proportionality” could however “not be respected”. Clearly, permanent exclusion would be a somewhat excessive precautionary measure in view of current HIV detection techniques.
The Court thus emphasizes that the HIV can now “be detected by effective techniques”, in particular by quarantining the blood bags for about twenty days, a period of time during which the virus is not yet visible in the blood after contamination. At the same time, the Court asks France to determine whether the establishment of a questionnaire and a more precise individual interview could not make it possible to identify more precisely risky sexual behavior.
And this is precisely what has been retained by the French government. After deliberation, the Minister of Health Marisol Touraine announced on April 12 that the pre-donation questionnaire was going to be modified soon to allow homosexuals abstinent for 12 months to donate blood. For its part, the National Consultative Ethics Committee (CCNE) estimated at the end of March that this permanent ban should be maintained, pending more data.
Asked about this judgment of the European Court of Justice at the exit of the Council of Ministers, Marisol Touraine announced that a meeting will take place at the end of May with all the actors concerned in order to change the issue of exclusion of homosexuals from donating blood.
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