Could this be harmful/dangerous?

[Viago]

mobile.twitter.com/LGBTLD/status/979423663547146240

If you scroll down a little bit, the person on the LibDem twitter account (a transwoman I think) says they filled in the female question when they gave blood.

People underneath are saying it could be dangerous - I know nothing about this area, I'm sure there will be a MNer with expertise in this. If not dangerous then maybe more implications than they have thought about? Genuinely not trying to scaremonger. My biology knowledge is minimal.

Although, I suppose now their mask has slipped, they can be as shitty as they like and no one should be surprised at all.

I had no idea this restriction existed, I bet loads don't.

And sorry - why would the NHS allow this or allow someone to tick a form like that? Why don't they have birth sex recorded for this sort of thing? I mean, what if someone just accidentally ticked the wrong box FFS?

Hmmmm not so sure about this. I did see that article suggesting that there may be a link between men receiving blood from a woman who has been pregnant and an adverse outcome, but I am not sure how conclusive it is.

I also don't think the NHS uses a policy of distinguishing between male and female blood. I have certainly never been asked whether I have ever been pregnant when donating- just whether I am currently pregnant. It's dumb to put the wrong sex down on the form, but I am not sure it really puts anyone at risk. The 'have you had sex with a man who has had sex with a man' question applies to women too.

I think the ban on men who had sex with men was discriminatory, even though there is a higher risk. However, the point is that all of this is the donor certifying anyway, so no way of checking whether it's true. Therefore, the onus must always be on the NHS to screen the blood properly before using it.

Thing is, the form just appears to refer to 'male' and 'female' with no use of either 'sex' or 'gender'. Never thought I'd consider that ambiguous!

As someone who used to give blood but has since been rejected due to a minor medical condition, it irritates me that a man who's had anal sex with a man can 'avoid' the issue by answering as a 'female'. The rules for donation are always changing, but I think it only right that one abides by whatever they are at the time - and the reasoning is pretty obvious.

I think a good rule of thumb on this would be: is it medical issue? Then put your need for validation aside, and put your biological sex down on the form.

You can’t avoid it though- you still get asked as a woman if you have had sex with a man who has sex with men and you get asked if you have ever been given money in return for sex.

You can’t avoid it though- you still get asked as a woman if you have had sex with a man who has sex with men

But if the man who had sex with a man identifies as a woman...

Maybe the question should just be 'have you had or received anal penetrative sex or had sex with anyone who has had or received anal penetrative sex?' That's essentially what they are interested in.

TGLWGH- reported

Oh dear. TGLWGH

Not keen on your user name Antitrans. That's not how we do things here.

Welcome to mumsnet by the way.

Bit surely trans people would not be allowed to donate in the first place because of all the gender reassignment drugs they take?

Is it possible the box on the form is just for show? You give your NHS id when you first register to give blood, don't you - so maybe the blood is actually checked against your known medical history, such as sex at birth and maybe even prescribed medicines etc, regardless of what you put on the form?

TGLWGH
What's that?

EBearhug Its a quote from Michelle Obama - they go low, we go high.

Ebearhug, its about not sinking to low comments however angry we may be as we want to keep to forum rules so that the debate continues.

Bit surely trans people would not be allowed to donate in the first place because of all the gender reassignment drugs they take

I used to give blood regularly before transition. I haven't given since going on HRT.

I have asked about this - and they had to look it up as it was a very unusual question - which makes sense as not many people give blood anyway and there are not many trans people out there.

I think the NHS says it's ok to give blood as a trans person who is on HRT.

The sex questions are interesting. As in - have you ever had sex with a man (if Male) - or have you ever had sex with a man who has had sex with a man (if female).

I haven't given blood since transitioning though. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if I put M on the form - it's a little form- but then again, if a man got a unit of my blood, there would be some oestrogen in it. But that would be the same if he got a unit of Female blood.

It's just another conversation you have to have with medical professionals when you are trans.

<a class="break-all" href="//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3215675-Dealing-with-inflammatory-posts-re-Trans-on-MN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.mumsnet.com/Talk/womens_rights/3215675-Dealing-with-inflammatory-posts-re-Trans-on-MN

@EBearhug. This is the thread that spawned TGLWGH. I think it's worth asking people to think about this when we are talking about the likes of Jane Fae. If anyone will prompt frustrated responses it's her.

Is it possible the box on the form is just for show? You give your NHS id when you first register to give blood, don't you - so maybe the blood is actually checked against your known medical history, such as sex at birth and maybe even prescribed medicines etc, regardless of what you put on the form?

@okMaybeIAmATERF. No, I don't think it is. That was one of the conspiracy theories references by Jane and in this case I think she has a point that it's silly.

The reason the NHS ask about sex is mainly due to relative rates of HIV infection in different communities. For this reason I think people should answer honestly about their biological sex- but there is no inherent issue (apart from very unlikely cases) with a woman's blood being given to a man or vice versa.

I haven't given blood since transitioning though. It wouldn't bother me in the slightest if I put M on the form - it's a little form- but then again, if a man got a unit of my blood, there would be some oestrogen in it. But that would be the same if he got a unit of female

There is evidence though to suggest that blood from women who have ever been pregnant could be dangerous to men.

time.com/4987922/blood-donations-transfusions-pregnant-women/

Thank you for the explanations - hadn't seen it before.

I’m now going to see it every other post, aren't I...