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HIV, Hepatitis C, banned “gay” blood donors & defamatory claims of “homophobia”

May 4, 2013 by SPCS Leave a Comment

In Australia, about 2,000 people currently living with HIV are also living with hepatitis C.

Figures from the New Zealand Ministry of Health (May 2012) indicate there were 721 people in NZ being treated for hep C in 2009, 578 in 2010 and 478 in 2011.

The NZ AIDS Epidemiology Group reported on 8 March 2012 that in 2011 there were 109 people newly diagnosed with HIV in NZ. Group director of the NZ AIDS Epidemiology Group, Otago University associate professor Nigel Dickson, said that a recent Auckland study had found about 20 per cent of a sample of gay and bisexual men with HIV were unaware of their HIV status.

If such men, unaware that they are infected with HIV and/or hep C, are both sexually active, promiscuous and fail to wear a condom during sexual activity, there is a real risk of both diseases being transmitted to their male partners (and in the case of bisexual men, being passed to both their male and female sex partners). Because the HIV virus is unable to be detected by blood tests until about 3-4 weeks after infection, men who have sex with men (MSM) are prohibited from donating blood if they have engaged in anal sex or oral sex, with or without a condom, at any time in the five year period prior to donating blood.

Data from PHARMAC showed the number of people in NZ receiving subsidised antiretroviral treatment (ART) for HIV rose from 1348 at the end of June 2010, to 1518 at the end of June 2011. Of those 80 per cent were males, and 20 per cent were females. It was estimated, 1603 people would have been on ART at the end of 2011.

With the recent passing of a bill by the NZ government legalising same sex marriage (SSM), opponents of the bill are predicting a rise in the numbers of people being treated for HIV/AIDS and other STDs prevalent among MSM.

On 1 December 2011 The NZ Herald reported that 3474 Kiwis had been diagnosed with HIV since it first appeared and about 680 of them have developed AIDS and died. Jane Bruning, director of a national support network for Kiwis affected by HIV, was reported as saying that somewhere between 1800 and 2500 people were living with HIV. She said there are hundreds more who have the virus but don’t know it. And others who won’t admit they’re infected (confirming Nigel Dickson’s assessment noted earlier).

Sexual transmission of hepatitis C was thought to be rare but recently there have been increases in the number of transmissions attributed to sex among “gay” men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Australia, particularly men living with HIV.

These increases have also been reported in numerous locations overseas, including in the United Kingdom, Europe, and North America.

Rodney Peter Croome AM is an Australian LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights activist and academic who currently serves as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group, and is National Convenor of the Australian Marriage Equality. He has accused the Australian Red Cross Blood Services of “homophobia” for having a policy that refuses to allow men who have sex with men (MSM) to donate blood. In the light of data provided above it is obvious why it is imperative that Red Cross ignore the fallacious, vexatious and defamatory accusations made by “gay” lobbyists such as Croome.

Further Reading

The Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO), has produced a website (http://www.thenewdeal.org.au/) designed to provide gay men with information about:

  • sexual transmission of hepatitis C and how to prevent it,
  • testing for and treatment of hepatitis C
  • information about HIV and hepatitis C co-infection.

AFAO President, Willie Rowe, points out why the website is needed: “With the recent increases in gay men getting hep C through sex, it is important they are informed about the risks and what they can do to address them.”

Hepatitis C is a significant health issue in its own right but there are particular health concerns for people living with HIV.

Robert Mitchell, President of the National Association of People with HIV Australia (NAPWHA) explains why this information is important for HIV-positive men: “Having both HIV and hep C can have serious impacts on the health of HIV-positive people. It can make treating both viruses more difficult and can also increase the progression of hep C and liver disease.”

References

New Zealanders Living with HIV

By Nicky Park. December 1, 2011

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10769971

HIV and Hepatitis Co-infection

Dual Strategies: managing HIV and hepatitis coinfection

http://www.afao.org.au/library/hiv-australia/volume-8/no.-1-hiv-and-hepatitis-co-infection

Hepatitis C New Zealand Treatment Numbers 2009-2010

June 11, 2012

http://hcv.org.nz/wordpress/

NZ HIV infection numbers drop

8 March 2012. By Michael Daly. Fairfax NZ News

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/6545845/NZ-HIV-infection-numbers-drops

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diagnosis_of_HIV/AIDS

http://www.afao.org.au/news/the-new-deal-gay-men-sex-and-hep-c

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Filed Under: Enforcement, HIV/AIDS STIs, Homosexuality, promiscuity Tagged With: AIDS, Australian Marriage Equality, blood donor, Hep C, Hepatitis C, HIV, homophobia, Red Cross, Rodney Croome, Rodney Peter Croome

Rodney Croome, “gay” blood donor ‘rights’ and “gay sex” HIV threat

May 3, 2013 by SPCS Leave a Comment

It is a well documented fact that the HIV virus is spread primarily via unsafe sex practices engaged in by MSM (men who have sex with men i.e active homosexual men). In July 2012 National Media Manager of the Australian Red Cross, Kathy Bowlen, stated:

“Sexually active gay men make the vast majority, about 90 per cent of people who contract HIV”.

A recent survey of New Zealand gay men undertaken in conjunction with the NZ AIDS Foundation revealed nearly two thirds of gay men are drug users, and the majority also cheat on their partners, frequently. The survey found that 35% of NZ gay men have sex with between 12 and a hundred different strangers every year.

Promiscuous homosexual men (see note 1) who engage in anal and oral sex with multiple partners are at real risk of contracting HIV/AIDS (see note 2) and passing it on to their sex partners. There is a risk that bisexual men who have engaged in anal sex with homosexual men and contracted HIV will pass it on to their female sex partners.

In Australia MSM are not allowed to donate blood at the risk of passing on blood-borne diseases, unless they declare that they have been celibate over the previous 12 months. Australian “gay” lobby groups are infuriated at the Red Cross, arguing there is discrimination regarding blood donations.

In New Zealand MSM are prevented from donating blood if they have engaged in anal or oral sex, with or without a condom, in the five year period prior to their application to be a donor. This is termed the five year “deferral policy”. The same prohibition applies if they have received payment for “gay” sex. This effective ban reflects the higher risk for those in the MSM group of contracting HIV, compared to those in other groups.

Kathy Bowlen confirmed that Red Cross’s testing of blood is not infallible and therefore MSM is a risk group.

“The problem [with MSM] is there is a window period in which someone has contracted the disease [HIV/AIDS] and this is not able to be picked up in testing.

“Gay women are able to donate which shows that the Red Cross is not discriminatory [against “gay” men].

“The entire focus with regard to blood donations and responsibility revolves around ruling out the risk.”

Bowlen’s comments effectively destroy the spurious accusation made by Rodney Croome, currently serving as the spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group and is National Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality, that sexually active homosexual men (MSM) are being discriminated against in being prevented from donating blood.

Croome insists that every homosexual male actively engaged in anal and oral sex (MSM) has a human right to donate blood to Blood Services Agencies. He claims:

” The best blood donation policy screens potential donors for the safety of their blood rather than their gender.”…

“We know know that HIV is spread by unsafe sex and not gay sex; therefore there needs to be a shift in focus when discussing blood donation”

However, he ignores the fact that the prohibition is not  based on gender, but rather it is based on known real risk. He ignores the fact that HIV testing is problematic due to the dormancy period of the virus, which means that even if a negative HIV test is given for a “gay”  blood donor, there remains a real risk he may unknowingly carry the virus. The real risk of HIV being present and going undetected, rules all MSM out as blood donors.

Rodney Croome wants to politicise the issue of blood donor policy for the purpose of his “gay” ‘rights’ agenda: including the drive to “normalise” the sexual practices of “gay” men. The ‘victim’ mentality engaged in by homosexual activists on this issue does not make any sense to health officials whose duty of care is the “public good” of the wider population. Croom claims that MSM are stigmatised by Red Cross due to their refusal to accept MSM blood and he asserts this is an typical example of institutional “homophobia”. This fallacious and defamatory accusation has been utterly repudiated by Red Cross and investigations carried out on the Blood Donor programme in Australia.

In the US and Canada no MSM can donate blood if they engaged in anal or oral sex since 1977 or engaged in sex for money or drugs. In much of Europe there is an effective total ban. In Korea and Japan no MSM individual can donate blood.

Public safety must at all times be put ahead of the politicisation of health issues by a “gay” ‘rights’ minority which is always accusing those they disagree with as “homphobes” and “homophobic bigots”.

Notes: 

1. A New Zealand survey of “gay” men revealed: Only 23% of the 1,200 men surveyed had managed to remain monogamous over the previous six months. Two thirds of the men reported multiple partners over that time. Many of them – more than a quarter – not only had multiple regular sex partners, they also had multiple casual sex partners as well. Nearly ten percent of those surveyed reported having between 20 and 50 sexual partners in the previous six months. A further 24% had between six and 20 partners in just six months. This was not a survey about how many times these men were having sex, it was a survey to find out how many different men they were having sex with.

A 2008 version of the same study notes that actual rates of “concurrent sexual partners” will be “higher than those reported here” because of methodology issues with the survey.

See: http://www.investigatemagazine.co.nz/Investigate/?p=3328

2. The AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome) infection is caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). HIV is spread when blood, semen, or vaginal fluids from an infected person enter another person’s body, usually through sexual contact, from sharing needles when injecting drugs, or from mother to baby during birth. HIV is rarely spread by blood transfusions or organ transplants because of improved screening procedures.

References:

http://www.altmedia.net.au/donation-appeal-ignites-gay-blood-debate/56587

http://www.transfusion.com.au/sites/default/files/Blood%20Review%20Report.pdf

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_male_blood_donor_controversy

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Filed Under: Enforcement, Homosexuality, Sexuality Tagged With: Australian Marriage Equality, blood donation, blood donor, discrimination, NZ Aids Foundation, Red Cross, Rodney Croome

Australian Marriage Equality, Rodney Croome and Red Cross’s “gay blood ban policy”

April 30, 2013 by SPCS Leave a Comment

In 2008 Rodney Croome, a Tasmanian-based LGBT (lesbian, gay. bi-sexual, transgender) rights activist and academic, accused the Red Cross of homophobia, aligning itself with right-wing hate groups, undermining its own credibility with dodgy statistics, and using scare tactics, with respect to its so-called “gay blood ban policy” (Rodney Croom’s  term). Currently National Convenor of Australian Marriage Equality (pro same-sex ‘marriage’ lobby), he wrote:

Why is the Red Cross undermining its own credibility with such dodgy statistics?

Why is it attempting to use …. “scare tactics”?

Why is it aligning itself with right wing hate groups by adopting their strategy?

Do the Red Cross or influential people within it actually believe that gay and bisexual men are highly and uniformly selfish, irresponsible, promiscuous and diseased?

This is hard to believe given the Red Cross’s firm commitment to humanitarian values.

What we can be certain of is that it’s justifying its current gay blood ban policy using some of the grossest and most offensive myths and stereotypes around. 

Whether the Red Cross is expressing its own groundless fear of homosexuality, or attempting to appeal to that fear in others, there’s only one word to describe the shaky foundation upon which it is building its case, “homophobia”. (ref. 1)

This sort of inflammatory rhetoric is typical of the political agitators from the Australian Marriage Equality lobby.

Background to Rodney Croome’s accusations against the Red Cross of “homophobia”

In August 2008 a  HIV social researcher told an Anti-Discrimination Tribunal hearing in Hobart, Tasmania, that only a small proportion of the gay community engages in risky unsafe sex. Associate Professor Anne Mitchell of Melbourne’s La Trobe University, gave evidence at the hearing of a complaint lodged by Launceston gay man Michael Cain. Mr Cain had complained that the Red Cross discriminated against him by refusing his offer of a blood donation because he had homosexual (anal) sex. He argued screening should be based on the safety of sexual practices, not sexual preference.

Professor Mitchell claimed that gay men who do not practice safe sex are only a small proportion of the gay community. When asked under cross-examination why a study showed more than 86 percent of newly acquired HIV cases were related to male to male sex (MSM), she said it was because HIV had already infected the gay community (ref. 2).

MSM are treated differently to other adults by Red Cross Blood Services because of their well-documented high risk sexual practices involving anal sex. Red Cross will also not take blood from anyone who in the previous 12 months has had a tattoo, a blood transfusion, a body piercing, been in prison, had sex with a prostitute or had a partner with hepatitis B or C.

Senior counsel Jeremy Ruskin, told the hearing that allowing ‘safe’ MSM  to donate blood would be“calamitous” and “catastrophic”. He pointed out that MSM “monogamy is a myth” a finding based in part on a study from New Zealand (ref. 1)

A recent survey of New Zealand gay men, confirming this earlier study and undertaken in conjunction with the NZ AIDS Foundation revealed nearly two thirds of gay men are drug users, and the majority also cheat on their partners, frequently. The survey found that 35% of NZ gay men have sex with between 12 and a hundred different strangers every year, often in circumstances very similar to the gay nightclubs gay writer Eric Rofes documented in his book Reviving The Tribe’  (see ref. 3). The NZ survey found 77% of gay men failed to stay monogamous even for six months! (ref. 3)

In the US, the current guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is to permanently ban any male who has had sex with another man (MSM), from donating blood, if the sexual activity occurred in the period from 1977 to the present day.  There is no restriction on blood donation if the last MSM activity was before 1977.

In Canada today, where homosexual activity was decriminalised in 1969, deferral is “indefinite”, for homosexuals attempting to donate blood (i.e. a total ban) as it is in most European countries.

New Zealand Blood Service Rules

Since 2009, the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) defers males from being blood donors, who have engaged in oral or anal intercourse, with or without protection, with another male, for five years. From the formation of the NZBS in 1998 to 2009, the deferral period was ten years, but was reduced to five years following an independent review of blood donation criteria in 2007-8 which found no significant difference in risk to the blood supply for deferral periods of five years compared to ten years.

The five year deferral period for MSM is on par with the five year deferral period for persons engaging in prostitution outside of New Zealand and people who have resided in a country which has a high (1% or more) HIV prevalence. It also applies to someone who carries HBV, HCV. Females who engage in sexual intercourse with a male who has had sex with another male are deferred for twelve months.

Such ‘discrimination’ against  MSM, certain prostitutes and certain women, is based upon the “high risk” sexual practices they have engaged in. It is justified discrimination based on the need to safeguard the protect the public good.

Reasoning for restrictions

Blood services first and foremost must ensure that all blood received for donation is safe for transfusion purposes. This is achieved by screening potential donors for high risk behaviors through questionaires and interviews before blood is taken, and subsequent laboratory testing on samples of donated blood.

Blood services commonly justify their bans against MSM using the statistically high prevalence of HIV and hepatitis of MSM in population studies.

Risks are also associated with a regular donor testing positive for HIV, which can have major implications as the donor’s last donation could have been given within the window period for testing and could have entered the blood supply, potentially infecting blood product recipients.

An incident in 2003 in New Zealand saw a regular donor testing positive for HIV and subsequently all blood products made with the donor’s last blood donation had to be recalled. This included NZ$4 million worth of Factor VIII, a blood clotting factor used to treat haemophilliacs which is manufactured from large pools of donated plasma, and subsequently led to a natiowide shortage of Factor VIII and the deferral of non-emergency surgery on haemophilliac patients, costing the health sector millions of dollars more. Screening out those at high risk of bloodborne diseases, including MSM, reduces the potential frequency and impact of such incidents. (ref. 4).

Men who have sex with men still are disproportiately affected by the HIV virus and account for nearly half the approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [2012]. But it is a person’s behavior, not their sexual orientation, that puts them at risk say health experts. (ref. 5)

The fact remains that men who engage in anal sex with men (MSM) are considered such a high health risk when it comes to blood donation, that current policies governing suitable donors in New Zealand are unlikely to be altered.

References

Ref. 1

Is the Red Cross homophobic? by Rodney Croome

http://www.rodneycroome.id.au/comments?id=2777_0_1_0_C

Ref. 2.

Risky sex not common: Witness

Tuesday 12 August, 2008

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2008-08-12/risky-sex-not-common-witness/473278

Ref. 3

http://www.investigatemagazine.co.nz/Investigate/?p=3333

Ref. 4

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_male_blood_donor_controversy

Ref. 5

As blood donations decline, U.S. ban on gay donors is examined.

By Jen Christensen CNN. 7 July 2012

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/07/06/health/gay-men-blood-ban

Further reference

Table 4. Sexual activity-based donor deferral policies in New Zealand
New Zealand MSM oral or anal sex with or without a condom 5 years
Sex for payment 5 years
Sex with IDU, MSM, someone who has received
payment for sex, someone from a country at high risk
of HIV, or someone who carries HBV, HCV
http://www.transfusion.com.au/sites/default/files/Blood%20Review%20Report.pdf

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Filed Under: Homosexuality, Marriage Tagged With: Australian Marriage Equality, gay blood ban, gay blood ban policy, homophobia, MSM, New Zealand Blood Services, Red Cross, Rodney Croome, same-sex marriage

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