The Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby have again called on the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and the state government to address the issue of discrimination in blood donation.

The current policy for blood donation states that blood cannot be donated if a person has engaged in male-to-male sex in the last 12 months.

Launceston resident Michael Cain has a current appeal being heard by the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination Commission, after his first appeal with the Anti-Discrimination Tribunal found he had a case.

Mr Cain launched the case after he was refused from donating blood in 2004 because he was gay and is fighting to have the policy reviewed.

 Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group (TGLRG) spokesperson Rodney Croome said that gay men who have safe sex within monogamous relationships are at less risk of HIV infection than many heterosexuals who have unsafe sex but are still allowed to donate blood.

"All blood donors should be screened for the safety of their sexual activity, not irrelevant factors like their sexuality or the gender of their partner. The screening process should be in line with the real risk and it's unsafe sex, not same-sex. We know the risks now, this policy is not relevant any longer."

When bnews contacted the Australian Red Cross Blood Service, a spokesperson issued the following statement.

"The Red Cross Blood Service are committed to the provision of the safest possible blood...The doctor questionnaire enables the blood service to determine donor eligibility based on expert advice on risk factors for viral/bacterial diseases."

"The deferral of males who have had male-to-male sex is based firstly on the statistically higher incidence of some blood-borne diseases (such as HIV) amongst such populations."

The statement goes on to say that research gathered by the National Centre in HIV Epidemiology and Clinical Research (University of NSW) indicates that since the first report in 1997, yearly statistics indicate that men with a history of male-to-male sexual contact continue to make up the majority of people diagnosed with AIDS and HIV infection in Australia.

Mr Cain originally lodged the complaint 3 years ago, with the first full hearing of his case only now being held. He said the most frustrating aspect of the ordeal was the lack of adequate response he got from the Red Cross Blood Service by way of explanation.

He feels confident about the case but worries about the interpretation of some data.

"The interpretation of different stats worries me,  you can get two different people looking at one set of statistics and both people will come to a different conclusion in a report," he said.

Although the Red Cross Blood Service have national policies, TGLRG is also targeting the state government, as it signs off on blood donation policy.

The case between the Australian Red Cross Blood Service and Michael Cain is scheduled to be heard at the Tasmanian Anti-Discrimination

By ANDIE NOONAN