While other provinces fall beneath the Canadian Blood Service (CBS), Quebec operates under its own agency, Hema-Quebec.īoth the CBS and Hema-Quebec plan to make the donation process more inclusive by eliminating the three-month deferral period for men who have sex with men, as well as transgender women. Quebec's blood donation network works a little differently from the rest of the country's. It's an all-too-familiar experience for many queer men and transgender women in Canada.īut new changes to the screening process mean Hamilton, an openly gay man, will be able to donate blood again - although he'll have to wait a little longer than most other Canadians because of where he lives. 'The nurse was very rude with me and made me feel very uncomfortable - very unwelcome, like I was not supposed to be there at all.' 'At this point, I had started having sex with men,' he explained. But when he went to the clinic a third time, he was turned away. 'He used to always give blood when I was a child, and I thought that was such a heroic thing for him to do.'Īs a young adult, Hamilton gave blood not once, but twice. 'I always looked up to my father,' Hamilton told CTV News. Dale Hamilton has wanted to donate blood his entire life.
