LGBT Indians demand end to ‘discriminatory’ blood donation ban

In 2018, India’s prime court docket legalised homosexual intercourse in a landmark ruling – however the nation nonetheless does not enable transgender individuals and homosexual and bisexual males to donate blood.

People from the LGBT group say the decades-old ban is “discriminatory” and have gone to court docket to problem it.

When Vyjayanti Vasanta Mogli’s mom was on her deathbed battling superior Parkinson’s, she wanted common blood transfusions.

But Ms Mogli, a trans girl based mostly within the southern metropolis of Hyderabad, couldn’t donate blood regardless of being her mom’s sole caregiver.

“I needed to maintain posting [requests for blood donors] on WhatsApp and Facebook teams,” she stated, describing the method as “traumatising”.

Ms Mogli was lucky to search out donors for her mum however many others aren’t.

Beoncy Laisharam – a physician within the north-eastern state of Manipur – recounted the expertise of certainly one of her sufferers, whose transgender daughter was unable to provide blood for his therapy.

“The father wanted two to 3 items of blood every day. They had been unable to search out blood from different sources,” she stated.

“He died two days after being introduced in.”

It was such tales that pushed Sharif Ragnerka, a 55-year-old author and activist, to file a petition in India’s Supreme Court in opposition to the ban on blood donation by LGBT individuals.

Indian legal guidelines prohibit LGBT individuals from donating blood on the bottom that they’re high-risk teams for HIV-Aids – it’s obligatory for donors to be free from illnesses which can be transmissible by blood transfusion.

The coverage dates again to the Eighties, when a number of nations imposed related bans to reign in an HIV-Aids epidemic raging the world over, which killed 1000’s.

Despite change in attitudes, subsequent insurance policies have stored the ban in place, together with the newest rule drafted in 2017.

Filed in July, the plea argues that the present blood donation insurance policies are “extremely prejudicial and presumptive” and violate the basic rights of “equality, dignity and life” of the LGBT group.

The court docket has requested the federal authorities to reply to Mr Ragnerka’s plea and tagged it with two related court docket circumstances filed in 2021 and 2023 which can be pending earlier than it.

In an earlier listening to, the federal government had defended the ban by citing a 2021 well being ministry report which said that transgender individuals, homosexual and bisexual males had been “six to 13 instances” extra on the threat of contracting HIV than the overall inhabitants.

“The authorities’s coverage is for mitigating threat with no ethical judgement [attached to] it,” stated Dr Joy Mammen, an professional in blood transfusion.

But critics say the coverage is discriminatory, rooted in stigma and makes them really feel “excluded and insignificant”.

“Other genders even have HIV optimistic individuals however their total group shouldn’t be banned [from donating blood],” Dr Beoncy stated, including that the ban reinforces current stereotypes.

India is is house to an estimated tens of tens of millions of LGBT individuals. In 2012, the Indian authorities put their inhabitants at 2.5 million, however international estimates counsel the true determine might be over 135 million.

Many of them face discrimination and are compelled to go away their households.

Campaigners say the ban hampers their entry to essential medical care because it bars them from taking blood from their companions or “chosen households”.

“If there is a blanket ban on blood donation by LGBT individuals, how do you anticipate group members to obtain assist in emergency conditions?” requested Sahil Choudhary, an LGBT activist.

In many situations, donors may also really feel compelled to lie about their sexuality whereas filling a compulsory type for making blood donations, to save lots of the lifetime of a liked one.

Activists argue that aside from it being discriminatory, the ban can be irrational due to the excessive demand for blood transfusions within the nation.

A examine printed by the Public Library of Science in 2022 estimated that India confronted an annual deficit of round a million items of blood.

Thangjam Santa Singh, a transgender rights activist who petitioned the court docket in opposition to the ban final yr, stated the present Indian legal guidelines are outdated as a number of nations have moved away from restrictions on LGBT blood donors lately.

Last yr, the US lifted all restrictions on homosexual and bisexual males donating blood. Now as a substitute of sexual orientation, donors are screened on the premise of whether or not they have engaged in “high-risk sexual behaviour”.

All potential donors need to reply a questionnaire about their current sexual histories. Those who’ve had a brand new sexual associate, a number of sexual companions and have engaged in anal intercourse within the final three months are requested to attend for 3 months earlier than donating blood.

The rationale is that new testing know-how permits sooner detection of HIV circumstances, so potential donors can safely give blood based mostly on a person threat evaluation.

The UK set in place related tips in 2021. Other nations which have lifted bans or eased restrictions, embody Brazil, the Republic of Ireland, Canada, France and Greece.

Petitioners argue that India also needs to have an individual-centric system for blood donation that’s based mostly on “precise threat” and never “perceived threat”.

Ms Singh stated that the Indian authorities can think about having a deferral interval based mostly on the donor’s current sexual historical past, as a substitute of denying your complete LGBT group the chance to donate altogether.

“This makes me really feel like I’m not human,” she stated.

The Indian authorities has opposed this, saying that the nation’s healthcare system shouldn’t be prepared for the change.

In its response to the sooner petitions filed earlier than the Supreme Court, the federal authorities had stated that superior blood testing applied sciences, similar to nucleic-acid testing which is broadly utilized in different nations, had been solely obtainable at a “small fraction” of blood banks in India.

“In India, the programs usually are not rigorous sufficient,” stated Dr Mammen.

This applies not simply “to testing” but additionally in “making certain an atmosphere the place there’s privateness and confidentiality so that folks really feel comfy in answering questions on their sexual historical past”, he added.

But members of the group usually are not satisfied – and say they might proceed their combat in opposition to the “prejudiced ban”.

“I maintain pondering how I wouldn’t be capable of donate blood to my household in case of pressing want,” Mr Ragnerka stated.

“I don’t need to spend the remainder of my life looking for methods round these obstacles.”