Hi
So sorry, got carried away and sent this to the network instead of internally,
nick
Hi,
There is a Stonewall call for policy change at
http://www.stonewall.org.uk/media/current_releases/3097.asp
and some info and chat (sorry, that sounds a flippant word in this context, can't find where I put my vocabulary this morning)
at http://www.stonewall.org.uk/what_we_do/research_and_policy/health_and_healthcare/3524.asp
This has been a sore point for many years. It seems to me that Gay communities have been serially and persistently ignored by UK government and Health Service on this issue.
My perception is that this is 'more of the same' for Gay men: for decades our society deemed that Gay love to be 'not good enough'. We appear to be growing out of that, but still Gay mens' blood is very much 'not good enough' -odd when Spain, Italy, Australia and New Zealand have all changed their policies to allow Gay men who pose no risk to the blood supply to donate blood.
As I understand this, it is akin to sticking an 'unclean' label on gay men- deeply deeply offensive, divisive and hurtful.
I'm a fan of the NBC, but I do think that the University could help here by acquainting the NBC with our puzzled confusion over their discrimination against Gay men. We offer NBC a venue and access to a massive cohort of young adults; there is clearly a benefit to NBC (and onwards to the entire UK population including me, of course) in getting university students into a blood donation habit. We have some leverage, and it should not be left to Gay lobbies alone to make these arguments.
Nick.
________________________________________
From: HE Administrators equal opportunities list [[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Cowan, Dorcas [[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 23 November 2010 08:08
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Equality issue re blood donation?
Dear colleagues,
Here at Exeter we are regularly visited on campus by the National Blood Service who hold donation clinics for staff and students to attend and donate blood. Recently, a member of our LGBT Equality Group has raised the issue that they feel personally offended by receiving the all-staff and all-student emails which are circulated ahead of each visit encouraging people to "do something wonderful - give blood" when, as a gay man he is deliberatley excluded from doing so. Has anyone else had experience of this issue being raised and if so, how have you addressed it? Any comments/advice would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Dorcas Cowan
Equality & Diversity Manager
University of Exeter
Tel: 01392 722037
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