Bangkok Post - April 04, 2008

Of the nearly 14,000 Thais who acquired HIV last year, 34% were young women and housewives. Gay men comprised the second largest group at 24%, and 84% of those contracted the deadly virus through unprotected sex.

The Red Cross claims it has lots of unused blood donated by men who have sex with men. It should reveal exactly how much blood is contaminated, compared with heterosexuals, and whether anyone has contracted HIV through a blood transfusion in Thailand from a gay man. Moreover, it says that in questionnaires and interviews men will be asked if they are "homosexuals" and women will be asked "if they have had sex with men from countries that have high incidence of Aids cases".

Yet the study cited by the Red Cross to come up with its policy to ban gays - one by J A Musto of the University of New South Wales' National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research - cites Thailand and South Africa as countries with a high incidence of Aids. By this logic, every Thai woman who has sex with a Thai man should be banned from donating blood as well.Of course, that would never happen. But it reveals how decisions must be based on statistics and indisputable evidence rather than broad, sweeping statements that only serve to reinforce cultural stereotypes.

This is not to say that the Thai Red Cross shouldn't do all it can to make sure donated blood is safe. The important question to ask is if homosexuality alone is reason enough to ban donors.

Thailand is not alone in banning gay men from giving blood. The US bans anyone who has ever had sex with a man after 1977, the year HIV supposedly was spawned. That decision was opposed by the American Red Cross, however. The organisation said a lifetime ban for gay men was "no longer medically and scientifically warranted". Even so, the US Food and Drug Administration still bans gay men for life.

England also bans gay men for life, although it imposes only a one-year ban on heterosexuals who have had sex with a partner from a country with a high HIV incidence, mostly in Africa. Thus, it would be nice to know from the Thai Red Cross how much of the rejected blood comes from gay men with risky lifestyles, and how much comes from gays who do wear condoms or are in monogamous relationships. And what is the cost? Is so much blood from gay men being rejected that it outweighs the benefits of having more donors?

Thailand has taken a leading role on many key issues related to access to public health, including policies toward transgender people and the decision last year to issue compulsory licences for Aids drugs.

We hope the Thai Red Cross will come up with a more sophisticated policy that aims to eliminate discrimination in donating blood. Or provide solid, irrefutable evidence that puts the issue to rest.

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