Human Rights Commission speaks on gay blood row

The Human Rights Commission says gay men should not be excluded from donating blood on the basis of their identity or HIV status. Commissioner Leon Wessels says the HRC has reïterated its stance that exclusion can only be done on the basis of convincing research, which does not exist in South Africa. Wessels says everybody practising unsafe, high-risk sex, should be excluded from donating blood and special emphasis should not be placed on gay men. A group calling itself a gay rights organisation caused an uproar last week when it said it had asked its members to donate blood without disclosing their HIV status.