Canada: Official language rules block immigrants from donating blood, stem cells

[Harold Schiffman]

Official language rules block immigrants from donating blood, stem cells
Only those who read and write French or English can register to donate in Canada

Last Updated: Thursday, December 13, 2007 | 6:08 PM ET
CBC News

Canadian immigrants who don't speak English or French are being
blocked from donating blood or registering as stem cell and bone
marrow donors. Canadian Blood Services only takes blood or bone marrow
donations from people who speak at least one of Canada's official
languages, a policy prompted by Health Canada regulations.
(CBC)

In November, Canadian Blood Services launched a program to persuade
more people from ethnic minority groups to register as bone marrow and
stem cell donors, but Health Canada regulations only allow those who
speak one of the official languages to register.
Tung Chan, head of the immigrant aid group SUCCESS in Vancouver, told
CBC News he can't understand why Canadian Blood Services would turn
away potential donors from minority groups after going through all the
effort of running a campaign to try and attract them.

About 400,000 Lower Mainlanders speak Chinese and thousands more speak
other languages, but many don't speak English or French, said Chan. Ed
Yee, the regional director of Canadian Blood Services for B.C., said
the rules are for everyone's safety because the mandatory donor form
has many difficult questions that require accurate answers. The
language restrictions on donors are designed to ensure the security of
the blood supply, Canadian Blood Services says.
(CBC)

Some of the questions are technical in nature, and others are
sensitive, he said, adding that using translators or family members to
help people fill out the forms would not be safe.

"There could be a situation where a donor feels embarrassed in the
presence of that translator, and so they could answer that question in
a way that is not accurate," said Yee.

"It's really to do with ensuring the safety of the blood supply."

Chan says the Canadian Blood Supply should translate its official
forms into other languages and hire multilingual nurses.

"Simply have the questionnaires translated into the most common
languages in the Lower Mainland … Chinese, Punjabi, Tagalog and
Korean," Chan said.

If the CBS wants more immigrants from ethnic communities to be donors,
it will have to change its two-language policy, he said.

The CBS is already working on hiring multilingual nurses, said Yee.

The One Match program was intended to increase the number of people
from minority ethnic groups registered to donate bone marrow and stem
cells for a wide range of medical treatments. Without donors, many
with serious medical conditions such as leukemia may die.

A variety of diseases and disorders are treated with stem cell
transplants, including:

Leukemias
Lymphomas
Myeloma
Bone marrow deficiency diseases caused by abnormal red blood cell
production, such as thalassemia or sickle cell disease
Aplastic anemia (the lack of normal blood cell production)
Immune system disorders
Metabolic disorders
What's important, said Chan, is "the idea that people should not be
excluded just because of their official language ability."

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2007/12/13/bc-languageblocksblooddonations.html

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