The Center has also opposed a demand that guidelines barring men who have sex with transgender men
(MSM) and female sex workers from donating blood be changed.
Transgender- Sex Workers Cannot Donate Blood:
The Central Government has told the Supreme Court that it is necessary that blood donors and blood
takers have full confidence that whatever blood sample is taken is completely safe and clinically correct.
The Center has also opposed the demand that guidelines barring transgenders, men who have sex with
men (MSM) and female sex workers from donating blood be changed.
The Center said the exclusion of transgender persons, homosexuals and female sex workers as blood
donors was based on scientific evidence. Evidences are recognized globally and they are recommended
by experts in India. The Union Ministry of Health and Family has filed its preliminary affidavit in a writ
petition challenging the blanket ban on transgender persons, gay men and female sex workers from
donating blood. The writ petition concerned clauses 12 and 51 of the said guidelines, which prescribed
transgender persons, gay men and female sex workers under the high-risk HIV/AIDS category
prohibiting them from donating blood Reportedly, the petitioners have challenged the inclusion of
transgender persons, gay men and female sex workers in the ‘at-risk’ category and not challenged the
exclusion of individuals falling in the class of persons at risk for HIV, Hepatitis B or C infections. The
GoI’s affidavit cited the following peer-reviewed studies to substantiate their claim:
1.)Prevalence of HIV and sexually transmitted infections among clients of female sex workers in
Karnataka, India: a cross-sectional study, BMC Public Health (2011)
2.)Prevalence and Assessment of Clinical Management of Sexually Transmitted Infections among
Female Sex Workers in Two Cities of India, Infectious Diseases in Obstetrics and Gynaecology (2011).
3.)Worldwide burden of HIV in transgender women: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Lancet
Infectious Diseases (2012).
4.) Sexually transmitted infections and HIV in self-reporting men who have sex with men: A two-year
study from India, Journal of Infection and Public Health (2016).
5.) Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among men having sex with men of urban Vadodara,
International Journal of Community Medicine and Public Health (2019).
6.) Geographic and behavioural differences associated with sexually transmitted infection prevalence
among Indian men who have sex with men in Chennai and Mumbai, International Journal of STD and
AIDS (2021).
The government also said it is imperative that donors and recipients of blood donation have complete faith that the collected sample is safe and clinically effective.
The Union government has defended before the Supreme Court the 2017 guidelines that prohibited transgender persons, men having sex with men (MSM) and female sex workers from donating blood, saying those were based on scientific evidence, globally recognised by subject experts.
The government in its argument in the Supreme Court (SC) said that the entire objective of a safe Blood Transfusion System (BTS) is to ensure the health and safety of the recipient of the donated blood.
The development comes after the government filed an affidavit to this effect in response to a notice issued by the Supreme Court in March 2021 on a petition filed by Thangjam Santa Singh alias Santa
Khurai, a member of the transgender community, who contended that the exclusion of transgender persons, gay men, and female sex workers from being blood donors and permanently prohibiting them
from donating blood solely on the basis of their gender identity and sexual orientation was completely arbitrary, unreasonable and discriminatory as well as unsciengtific.
The petition also alleged that such a Categorism was based on negative stereotypes which amounted to discrimination under Articles 14 and 15 of the constitution.
ANUSHKA YADAV ,BA.LLB(2nd) semester RNB GLOBAL UNIVERSITY GANGANAGAR (BIKANER)
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