A Wellington man has opened debate over whether New Zealand's current Health Ministry policy of banning gay men from being sperm donors should be reviewed. Some experts say the policy is discriminatory and irrational, but others maintain that it is necessary to reduce the risk of HIV infection in mothers and babies. New Zealand currently has a shortage of sperm donors, causing some women to wait up to two years before they can receive fertility treatment. A Wellington man became aware of this shortage and contacted Fertility Associates offering to donate, but the second question he was asked was "are you heterosexual?" When he told the clinic he was gay, they refused to let him donate, saying it was against Health Ministry rules. Fertility Associates defends the Health Ministry position, saying that although all donor sperm is screened for HIV and other diseases, homosexual men are a higher risk group and are therefore excluded, along with intravenous drug users. The Human Rights Commission told the media that the policy appears discriminatory, and other experts say it was an ignorant and irrational assumption to believe that all gay men engage in risky sex, while straight men do not. A Wellington-based infectious disease specialist says that the policy is simply 'risk management', but that a monogamous gay man is lower risk than a single, sexually active straight man, and therefore it would make sense for the Health Ministry to review its policy.
Credit: GayNZ.com News Staff
First published: Monday, 23rd January 2006 - 12:00pm