Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2008. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Bangkok Post - March 31, 2008
Apiradee Treerutkuarkul
The decision came after a study found that men who had sex with other men were at risk of contracting HIV/Aids and transmitting the blood-borne virus.
The Thai Red Cross said it had large amounts of unused blood that had tested HIV-positive. Most of the infected blood was from men who were having unprotected sex with other men, according to in-depth interviews and preliminary tests, said the director of the National Blood Centre, Soisaang Pikulsod.
For safety reasons, the bank is screening high-risk groups of blood donors through questionnaires. Blood donors are asked if they are homosexuals and female donors will also be asked if they have had sex with men from countries that have high incidence of Aids cases.
"The Thai Red Cross Society has the right to protect patients who are waiting for blood transfusions to save their lives by screening blood from specific donors that have high-risk sexual behaviour," she said. The new rule also followed the World Health Organisation guidelines, she added.
Blood donor questionnaires and declarations can be used to reduce the risk of accepting HIV-infected blood from donors, a study published in Transfusion Medicine said this year, she said.
A study by J A Musto of the University of New South Wales' National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research and his team found that men who have sex with other men and women who have sex with partners from countries with a high HIV prevalence such as South Africa and Thailand were at high risk of HIV transmission.
"It's the responsibility of blood donors to ensure that their blood is of good quality. It will be religiously and morally wrong if you want to only make merit but do not care about your risky behaviour, which could end up putting other people's lives at great risk," she said.
However, the National Human Rights Commission strongly opposes the new rule and plans to call on the Constitution Court to stop the Thai Red Cross from singling out gay men.
What the Thai Red Cross is doing is tantamount to sexual discrimination under the constitution, human rights commissioner Naiyana Supapueng said.
The commission will also try to bring together those affected by the regulation to sit down this week to find a way of stopping it, he added.
"In principle the Thai Red Cross Society should not come up with a total rejection. Taking away people's rights is not the correct thing to do," she added.
But Natee Teerarojjanapongs, leader of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, who previously called on the centre to continue accepting blood donations from homosexuals for human rights reasons, said he now accepted the new rule.
He conceded that homosexuals were at high risk of contracting HIV as a national study showed HIV prevalence among homosexual men, especially in Bangkok, was as high as 28%.
However, he called on relevant agencies to strengthen condom campaigns and monitor public places such as saunas for promiscuous homosexual behaviour. He said the low lighting was intentionally created at these places to encourage homosexuals, especially teenagers, to have sex without protection.
An estimated half a million people are living with HIV/Aids in Thailand. About 14,000 new cases are reported each year.
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