Between exclusion, discrimination and slow raising of prohibitions, the history of blood donation in homosexual men illustrates a long fight for equality. A battle led by associations and citizens, until this historical announcement.
An injustice inherited from AIDS years
It all started in 1983. In the midst of HIV crisis, France purely and simply prohibits men with sex with men (HSH) to give their blood. For more than three decades, these men remain excluded from a gesture, however synonymous with solidarity.
It will be necessary to wait until July 2016 that a first softening will see the day: HSH can give again, but on condition that you have had no sex for a year. In 2020, this period was reduced to four months. And in 2022, the specific ban is lifted: the conditions are the same for everyone.
However, in EFS files, a continuous mention of being displayed. A cold acronym: “HSH”. A vestige of a filing inherited from an era of fear and stigma.
This is what the petition denounced “No to the filing of homosexuals by the EFS “launched by the Tous.Tes association, which collected more than 15,000 signatures in a few weeks. “”For me, the gift of blood has always been a gesture of national solidarity which has no connection with sexual orientation “testified an LGBT activist in The Parisianseeing in this decision “the end of an injustice”.
Sensitive archives soon erased
Under citizen and associative pressure, the EFS ended up recognizing the anomaly. In the columns of Releaseits director general delegated Sara-Lou Gerber explained:
“”This data no longer provides added value in terms of transfusion security. In addition, the establishment is attached to these inclusive issues “.
After consultation with the Ministry of Health and the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM), the EFS made the decision to delete this data. These archives, comparable in sensitivity to data of ethnic or political opinion, were stored in a secure space, accessible only to around twenty agents. Now they will disappear.
Still according to Sara-Lou Gerber (Release):
“”The team believes that we can make most of the deletions by the end of September “.
A total deletion: for men who have never given after 2016, their files will be fully erased. For the others, all the “HSH” mentions will definitively disappear.
Towards a blood donation finally egalitarian
For associations, this decision marks a turning point. In The ParisianJulia Torlet, president of SOS Homophobia, sees it as “a decline in stigma”. But she recalls that some donors continue to report discrimination in collections.
Beyond the symbol, the removal of “HSH” mentions wants to close a painful page, and turn to a future where transfusion security is based on risky behaviors-and not on sexual orientation.
A decisive step towards a blood donation “the same for all”, as affirms Sara-Lou Gerberconjugating security And inclusiveness.