The Ministry of Health Followed the Recommendation of the Equality Movement on Blood Donation

The Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia  followed the recommendation of the Equality Movement and minimize the period of ban on blood donation for the MSM persons from 10 years to 12 months.

With this recommendation the Equality Movement addressed to the Ministry of Health in February 2020.

The recommendation pointed out that the the article 65¹ (subparagraph E) of the Annex I of the order Determination on the Testimony of Against the Donation of Blood and its Components of Minister of Health dated December 5, 2000, should be amended as follows:

E) Male sexual intercourse with a man (postponement from last 12 months).

Which the Ministry has satisfied. The amendment will take effect on March 31, 2020.

The Constitutional Court of Georgia on December 17, 2019, by the judgment No. 2/16/1346, declared the subparagraph E of Article 651 of Annex I to the Minister’s Order unconstitutional. According to the ruling he Ministry had to develop a new regulation that would limit the right of donation for MSM persons only for the period that is objectively necessary for the safety of donations.

Although MSM persons are considered as high risk population, the calculation of the “window period” for any person begins from the last risky behavior. Consequently, the limitation of donation of blood for MSMs for a longer period than is necessary for exclusion of False Negative response in blood tests is disproportionate and unconstitutional.