スウェーデン首相: 男性同性愛者の献血・臓器提供を認めよう

Swedish PM backs gay men as blood, organ donors
Thu Jul 21, 8:50 AM ET

Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson, seen here March 2005, said gay men should be allowed to give blood or donate organs.(AFP/File/Thierry Monasse)




STOCKHOLM (AFP) - Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said gay men should be allowed to give blood or donate organs.

Men who have had sex with other men are banned from giving blood or donating organs in many countries, including the United States, because their sexual habits are deemed to increase the risk of spreading the HIV/AIDS virus.

In Sweden, they are also turned away from blood donor centres.

But in an interview with Pride, a supplement to Sweden's QX magazine, Persson answered with a simple "yes" when asked whether gays should be allowed to give blood or donate organs.

Discouraging or banning homosexual men from giving blood is common but controversial, and has drawn angry protests from gay rights organizations.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration justifies its ban by saying that "there is scientific justification for screening out all potential donors who are men who have had sex, even once, with another man".

男性同性愛者の献血・臓器提供を認めよう＝スウェーデン首相 (AFP/時事 2005/07/21)

　 【ストックホルム２１日】スウェーデンのペーション首相は２１日までに同国メディアのインタビューで、男性同性愛者の献血や臓器提供を認めるべきだとの考えを明らかにした。（写真はスウェーデンのペーション首相）

　男性の同性愛者はその性的習慣からエイズ感染の可能性が高いとみられているため、米国を含む多くの国で献血や臓器提供を禁じられている。

　スウェーデンでも、男性同性愛者の献血は禁止だが、献血を認めるべきかとの質問に対し、ペーション首相は明確に肯定の回答を示した。

　この種の規制について、米国の関係当局は「科学的な正当性がある」と主張。各国政府のこうした態度に対して、同性愛者の権利擁護団体などは強く反発している。〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕


Swedish Leader: Let Gays Donate Blood
by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff
Posted: July 24, 2005 12:01 am ET

(Stockholm) Sweden's Prime Minister has become the world's first leader to publicly call for an end to the ban on gays from donating blood.

Men who have sex with men are banned from giving blood or donating organs in most countries, including Sweden, the United States and Canada.

The bans date back to the early days of HIV/AIDS when gay men made up the majority of AIDS cases. Since that time the incidence rate among heterosexuals - primarily blacks and women - has increased substantially and gays believe the ban to be discriminatory.

Prime Minister Goeran Persson said gay men should be allowed to give blood or donate organs.

The question was put to Persson in an interview with Pride, a supplement to the Swedish magazine QX.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration says that "there is scientific justification for screening out all potential donors who are men who have had sex, even once, with another man".

A number of universities, mainly in the Northeast, have banned the American Red Cross from holding blood donor clinics on campuses because of the ban.