Canada to remove restrictions on gay and bisexual sperm donors

Canada is set to remove restrictions on gay and bisexual sperm donors from May 2024.

Under current Health Canada policy, men who have sex with men are prohibited from donating to sperm banks unless they have been abstinent for three months, or it is a known donation where the recipient signs a waiver. Health Canada is now set to amend its federal directive on donor screening criteria, to focus on questions regarding sexual behaviour for all donors. The change to policy comes after a legal challenge last year challenging the constitutionality of the current policy regarding sperm donation, arguing it violates the right to equality enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (see BioNews 1177).

An email sent from Health Canada to stakeholders said: 'After a review of the latest scientific evidence and feedback received from recent consultations, Health Canada is updating the donor screening criteria for sperm and ova donors to adopt a more inclusive screening approach.  

'The new inclusive approach will replace the current men who have sex with men screening questions with gender-neutral, sexual behaviour-based donor screening questions.'

This screening model follows similar changes made by the Canadian Blood Services to its donation policy in 2022, which moved away from a blanket ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood.

Despite the changes to policy, Gregory Ko, lawyer for the man bringing the legal challenge against Health Canada, has said that those having new or multiple partners in the last three months will still be prohibited from donating, based on screening questions regarding anal sex. He stated that his client intends to continue the legal challenge against the directive.  

Ko added that 'Based on our understanding of the science, there is no scientific justification for screening criteria that continues to discriminate on the basis of sexual activity and sexual orientation, since the testing and quarantine protocols already in place allow sperm banks to detect relevant infections and exclude such donations'.

Mark Johnson, agency representative for Health Canada, said in a statement to CTV news that the federal government is 'committed to make sure that sperm and ova donation policies are safe, non-discriminatory, and science-based' and that 'this change will not compromise the safety of donated sperm and ova in Canada'.

The change in Canada follows reports that the US Food and Drug Administration is planning to relax its restrictions on gay and bisexual men from anonymously donating sperm (see BioNews 1233).