'Historical' barriers deterring Black donors from adding to Canada's diverse blood supply
Members of Ottawa's Black community say while there's a large demand for ethnically diverse blood in Canada, there's also a hesitancy within the community to donate after years of being denied the opportunity due to historical stereotypes.
In most cases, people living with rare blood diseases such as sickle cell anemia may have better outcomes with blood transfusions from donors who have a similar ethnicity.
Yet many Black Canadians who are originally from Africa say they're reluctant to donate after being turned away in the past for a period of up to three years. Historically, they were told they couldn't donate blood due to the prevalence of malaria across that continent — whether or not they'd ever contracted the disease.
Canadian Blood Services (CBS) also had a screening question that limited donations from people who lived in, were born in or had sexual contact with a person from Central African Republic, Cameroon, Chad, Congo, Equitorial Guinea, Gabon, Niger or Nigeria after 1977, due to a lack of reliable testing for HIV. The question was entirely removed from the screening process in 2018.
A majority of the community are being rejected just by virtue of where they're coming from, where they were born.
- Janet Jackden, Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario
CBS has also since loosened its policy regarding blood donations by donors from malaria-endemic regions to a waiting period of three months.
Janet Jackden, a member of the patient advisory and advocacy committee for the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario (SCAGO), said she was denied when she tried to donate blood years ago.
"I didn't really feel good about it because at first, I couldn't understand the reasoning behind it. And there was no explanation, it was just like, no … unfortunately we can't take donors from this region," Jackden said.
She didn't have malaria, but she said she was told that because she's originally from Nigeria, she couldn't give blood.
Jackden tried again after the arrival of her daughter, who was born with sickle cell disease, and was finally successful.
"When it hits closer to home things resonate a lot differently. So it is important as a parent, as a caregiver that I educate myself as much as I can and also just inform this health-care system as much as I can on behalf of her," she said.
Tanya Elese donates her time with the Sickle Cell Awareness Group of Ontario to encourage and educate Black community members about donating blood. (Tanya Elese)
'Majority of the community are being rejected'
Tanya Elese, the south-east region coordinator of SCAGO, said she sees many Black people reluctant to even try to donate.
"When I was personally reaching out to people and saying, 'Hey guys, let's come, let's gang up,' many people were like, 'I bet I would be turned down because I'm from Africa,'" Elese said.
According to the Canadian Blood Services (CBS) website, 47 out of Africa's 54 countries are listed as at risk for contracting malaria, demonstrating how limiting eligibility criteria can be for immigrants from that continent.
"A majority of the community are being rejected just by virtue of where they're coming from, where they were born," Jackden said.
Recent data from CBS shows 25 per cent of the blood donor base is made up of people from ethnically diverse groups.
Current restrictions
Travellers returning from regions with a high risk of contracting malaria must wait for a period of up to three years before donating blood in Canada, depending on the length of their stay.
According to Eloise Tan, director of diversity equity and inclusion for CBS, that's because there's no suitable Health Canada-approved test available to screen those travellers for the disease.
Anyone who has contracted malaria is unable to donate blood in Canada, though they may donate plasma and be on the stem cell registry.
Other countries have more relaxed donor rules. According to guidelines from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, people who've had malaria can donate blood in that country, but must wait until three years after treatment to do so.
CBS said it's actively working with community groups including SCAGO to identify and remove "cultural perceptions" that prevent such donations in Canada.
"There's historical legacies of people who try to donate blood in the past and those can persist in the community even if the criteria have evolved," Tan said.
Advocates are asking for further research to better understand the barriers that are still in place and why, especially with the constant flow of immigrants to Canada.
