June 15th, 2021 - On World Blood Donor Day, SDP issued an appeal demanding that all Croatian citizens be allowed to donate blood without discrimination, as is the case in most EU countries. Blood donation is not a question of sexual orientation, but only a desire to help.

As Večernji reports, the Ordinance on special technical requirements for blood and blood products states that blood must not be donated by "persons whose sexual behaviour puts them at high risk of contracting infectious diseases that can be transmitted through blood". The website of the Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine states that blood must not be donated by "men who have had sexual intercourse with other men in their lives." Such men are permanently banned from donating blood solely because of their sexual orientation, which is extremely discriminatory and unconstitutional, SDP claims.

Restrictions on blood donation were prescribed back during the 1980s owing to the HIV pandemic, but today there is no reason for such drastic restrictions that put a certain social group in an unequal and defamatory position, the Social Democrats believe.

"The obligation of the Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine is to test each dose of donated blood for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and HIV. The safety of donated blood is ensured by a temporary ban for people who have been at risk of becoming sexually and blood-infected in the last three months, but this does not depend on sexual orientation. The question, therefore, arises as to why gay men are obliged to state their sexual preferences to a doctor and why they are permanently banned from donating blood solely because of this fact?" SPD wrote in their statement.

Back in 2015, a court in Strasbourg ruled that the criteria for donating blood based on sexual orientation were both stigmatising and discriminatory. "Today, when Croatia is facing a shortage of blood supplies and blood products, which is why more complicated operations are being postponed in some hospitals, any restriction that could endanger the health or the life of a human being is unacceptable for us," SDP stated.

They point out that Croatia has one of the most rigorous laws in the world on this issue, so we're in a group of countries such as China, Lebanon, UAE, Venezuela, and Turkey.

"There are also Switzerland, Austria, not to mention further. The criteria are adopted by the profession guided by the safety of blood recipients and in accordance with epidemiological trends and risks. This is not about discrimination because it is not the only population that cannot donate blood. Epidemiological indicators show that more than 90% of newly diagnosed HIV cases in Croatia every year are among men who have sexual relations with men," explained Dr. Irena Jukic, the director of the Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine.

She states that a lot of attention and a lot of money is spent on tests in order to avoid the danger of contracting an infection through blood transfusion, and during the summer they will test the entire population of blood donors for the presence of the dangerous West Nile virus. Despite all modern molecular tests that can be done, there is a so-called window period, a certain number of days or weeks during which the blood can still transmit Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, Syphilis and various other infectious diseases without a test picking up on their presence.

"In this 'window period', positivity cannot be detected either by an antigen test or an antibody test," stated Dr. Jukic, adding that a transfusion can be given intrauterine, ie to the child when still in the mother's womb.

"On World Blood Donor Day, politicians could unite and donate blood. A lot of them are able to give blood, and they don't do that, although that would help those who need it the most," Dr. Jukic added.

Blood can be given by any healthy person between the ages of 18 and 65 if they weigh at least 55 kilograms, have a normal blood pressure and enough hemoglobin in their blood.

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June 14th, 2021 - The Social Democratic Party (SDP) on Monday called to end ban on gay men donating blood and enabling all citizens, regardless of their sexual orientation, to donate blood, warning that only gay men were not allowed to donate blood in Croatia.

In a statement issued on World Blood Donor Day, the SDP points to current restrictions for blood donation, which, it says, were introduced in the 1980s due to the outbreak of the HIV epidemic and under which only gay men are not allowed to donate blood.

Citing current regulations on technical requirements for blood and blood products, the party says that blood cannot be donated by "persons whose sexual behavior puts them at a high risk of contracting infectious diseases that can be transmitted by blood" and that information on the Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine website says that "men who have had sex with other men" must not donate blood.

The party recalls that the Court of the EU in Strasbourg in 2015 made a ruling. It said that if criteria for blood donation were based on a person's sexual orientation, they constituted stigmatization and discrimination.

"Croatia has one of the most restrictive laws in that regard and is in a group of countries that also includes China, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, Venezuela, and Turkey," the party says.

It notes that the country has been experiencing a shortage of blood and blood products, causing delays of more complicated operations. Considering the significantly changed situation today and numerous obligatory safeguards in blood transfusion, the reasons for maintaining such drastic restrictions no longer exist.

The Croatian Institute for Transfusion Medicine tests every blood donation for hepatitis B, hepatitis C, syphilis, and HIV, the party recalls.

The safety of donated blood is also ensured by a temporary ban on blood donation for persons who in the previous three months were at risk of getting infected through sexual contact or blood, which, the party says, does not depend on one's sexual orientation.

"This brings up the question of why gay men are obliged to state their sexual preferences to medical staff and why they are permanently forbidden to donate blood solely on the grounds of sexual orientation," says the SDP.

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June 14th, 2021 -  Marking World Blood Donor Day, Red Cross Croatia (HCK) on Monday reminded the public about the importance of blood donation, noting that the number of blood donors has decreased by 10% since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

As part of activities marking World Blood Donor Day, Red Cross Croatia today organized a blood donation drive to last between noon and 2 pm at the Red Cross Croatia Education Centre in Zagreb.

The aim of this year's World Blood Donor Day, held under the slogan "Give blood and keep the world-beating," is to raise global awareness of the significance of blood and blood transfusion products, for which the contribution of voluntary unpaid blood donors to national health systems is crucial.

The HCK also notes that this year's campaign will focus on the role of young people in securing blood supplies.

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