Pride representatives were at Canadian Blood Services to hold an event that would both help find new blood donors, as well as raise awareness about a controversial policy that excludes males from donating if they have had any sexual contact with another male, at least once, since 1977.
this policy was put in place back at a time when it was perceived that AIDS was a 'gay' disease. But times have clearly changed. AIDS is not about who you are, it's who you sleep with. promiscuity, sex without protection, sharing needles.... these are the way AIDS spread. A sexually responsible person, no matter what sexual orientation or gender identity, should be considered a safe donor (unless they are deemed disqualified for any other reason).
in the end, the event garnished media attention from CBC, NTV, VOCM, and the Telegram (the 4 biggest news entities in the city). i was only at the event briefly towards the end, so i was not involved in the media, but i had a good chat with the blood rep, who will be on hand to present to the forum on Saturday.
in other news, i picked up my Tely 10 race kit tonight. hard to believe i will be back in this race after missing it last year due to my marathon in denmark. should be an interesting run.
Jenn
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