Aussie Red Cross Refuses Gay Blood
August 7, 2008 by James Hipps
THE Red Cross Society’s refusal to accept blood from gay men is a “text-book” case of discrimination, a tribunal has been told.
Michael Cain, 25, of Launceston in Tasmania, was refused the opportunity to donate blood in 2004 because he indicated in a donor questionnaire that he was in a sexual relationship with another man.
Mr Cain’s lawyer Peter Tree SC told the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal in Hobart it was “’straightforward, almost text-book direct discrimination”, the Mercury reported today.
Mr Tree said it was also “illogical and medically flawed” to ban all practising gay men from donating blood.
“The appropriate screen ought be based on unsafe sexual activity” rather than sexual preference, he said.
Get more of this story from news.com.au.
[...] 15, 2008 by James Hipps It was reported earlier on GayAgenda.com that Michael Cain, 25, of Launceston in Tasmania, was refused the opportunity to donate blood in [...]