Ban on gays donating blood lifted in Argentina

A ban on homosexual men donating blood was lifted in Argentina, a move the gay community had long demanded. The country joined others in the region, including Cuba, Chile, Mexico, Nicaragua and Peru, which have ended similar restrictions in recent years.

At a signing ceremony for the resolutions lifting the ban, Health Minister Daniel Gollan said, “For a long time, people believed that homosexual relationships were more risky than heterosexual relationships” in terms of contracting HIV, a perception that had led to the initial ban.

“What we are doing today is scientifically and technically accurate,” he continued, and is “based on a medical approach that replaces that old concept of `risk groups.`”

The policy change was made “in order to move toward a national blood system that is safe, caring and inclusive” Gollan had said in a statement Tuesday.

It follows a campaign by gay advocacy groups that had lasted more than 15 years.

Many other countries, including Costa Rica, Brazil, El Salvador and Venezuela, still have blood-donation bans in place.

The US Food and Drug Administration recommended lifting the United States` ban earlier this year — as long as the men have abstained from sex for a year before giving blood. Similar policies to that proposed change exist in Australia, Britain, Japan and Sweden, sparking criticism from advocacy groups who see them as still discriminatory.