The case summed up Marthe Svantesvold is not allowed to donate blood because she is married to a man from Somalia, despite the fact that he has not been there for 10 years. Svantesvold criticizes the regulations for labeling certain monogamous couples as more likely to be infected by sexually transmitted diseases. The blood bank acknowledges the problem with the regulations, but the Directorate of Health insists that the criteria must be strict. Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol is aware of developments in changes to the regulations on blood donation. Svantesvold suggests that her blood could have been tested more, or that she could have been asked more questions, in order to donate blood. The blood bank says that if the Directorate of Health decides to introduce extended testing to reduce the risk in men who have sex with men, several other groups will also be able to be included. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Marthe Svantesvold was born and raised in Norway. She is married to a man who was born in Somalia, who has not been there for 10 years. Therefore, Marthe’s husband can donate blood if he wants to. But Marthe can’t. She is in the risk group for being infected by her own husband. – Labeling some groups, whether they are homosexuals or people from other country groups, as likely to commit adultery when they are in long-term relationships is questionable, says Svantesvold. The blood bank says that this shows a problem with the current regulations, but the Directorate of Health believes that the criteria must be that strict. – I was surprised Marthe Svantesvold and her husband had been married for three years when she made an appointment to donate blood. He had then been in Norway for 10 years, without going to Somalia, where he comes from. Therefore, Svantesvold turned up for the appointment in the good faith that she could donate blood. But the nurse who was supposed to take the blood test said that was not the case. – She said it was about the fact that I was married to a man who comes from a high-risk country. Marthe Svantesvold is also public health coordinator in Haugesund municipality. That is why she was extra surprised by the strict regulations in the blood bank. Photo: Marthe Svantesvold / private The blood bank reckoned that he traveled to his home country in between and was therefore more exposed to infection. – It was a bit like a punch in the face. Still, she accepted the answer then and there, and rambled on again. But later she began to wonder. – I understand that it can also be about hepatitis, which can be contagious in several ways when you are travelling. But the most he can infect me with is through sexual contact, says Svantesvold. The blood bank: – Completely backward And it is not just Svantesvold in Haugesund that has wondered why the rule is like this. Lise Sofie H. Nissen-Meyer, section leader for blood donation at the Blood Bank at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo, says that these regulations have remained unchanged for many years. – My attempts to ask why it is like this have not yielded good answers, she says. Lise Sofie H. Nissen-Meyer at the Blood Bank in Oslo says that the rule is not rooted in any kind of racism or assumptions about adultery: – At the Blood Bank, we consider risk, not race. Photo: Nadir Alam / news – That he can give blood and she can’t is obviously completely backwards and an unintended consequence of the rule. In 2019, it was proposed to change the director of blood donation. There was a hearing in 2019, but it did not go through. – We look forward to it being removed. We think this applies to a large group of potential donors, she says. The blood of people south of the Sahara is tested more than other blood. Therefore, people from these countries are allowed to donate blood after a quarantine of 5 years. Photo: Lars-Petter Kalkenberg / news – Any spouse can be unfaithful at any time Marthe Svantesvold experiences the response she received when she wanted to give blood as a kind of opinion about adultery. – In today’s society, everyone travels a lot. I think that any spouse can be unfaithful anywhere in the world at any time. – So that it is more likely that someone is unfaithful than others is something I find strange, she says. Lars-Petter Kalkenberg A temporary situationLise Sofie Nissen-Meyer, head of the blood donation section at the blood bank in Oslo, believes Marthe Svantesvold is in a temporary situation. Those who have been in a country south of the Sahara for less than 5 years end up in a quarantine. But this quarantine is temporary. She can therefore become a blood donor when they have been sex partners for 5 years. Mohamed Abd El Ghany / Reuters Who does it actually apply to? Persons who have stayed for more than 5 years together in Africa south of the Sahara. But it does not apply to Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Algeria or Morocco. Lars-Petter Kalkenberg What is the 5-year rule? People with sexual partners who have stayed in these countries for 6 months to 5 years (cumulatively) can donate blood when the cohabitation has lasted for 5 years after the stay, or 6 months after the cohabitation has repealed. This is called the “5-year rule”. The reason her husband can give blood is that the blood he gives is automatically tested more. – They could have just marked me in the same category and let me give blood. And for example test it more, or ask me a few more questions, suggests the 41-year-old from Haugesund. news has contacted the Blood Bank in Haugesund and Helse Fonna. They have not answered the questions from news. At the Blood Bank in Oslo, they have solved this with a local rule for couples where both want to be blood donors. There, the couple agrees that the Blood Bank can see their liability for infection in context. But Nissen-Meyer explains that the rules are also understood slightly differently in the various blood banks. This leads to unfortunate discrimination. Nissen-Meyer says that one explanation for the 5-year quarantine is that Hepatitis C is so little sexually contagious that the infection could occur several years after the relationship started and constitute a long-term risk. Photo: Helse Bergen – Can the regulations themselves mean that there are fewer people who have the opportunity to donate blood than we need? – We think so, and therefore want a revision of the regulations and a new assessment of risk for several groups, says the section leader. On 8 March, Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol was informed by Director of Health Bjørn Guldvog about the development in this case. – The Norwegian Directorate of Health has assured us that they will continue to work together with the specialist authorities to find a solution. Affected groups will also be involved in the further work, says Kjerkol to news. – If the Directorate of Health decides to introduce extended testing to reduce the risk in men who have sex with men, several other groups will also be able to be included, says the head of the blood donation section at the Blood Bank at Ullevål Hospital in Oslo. Directorate of Health: The most important thing is that it is safe Senior adviser Ingeborg Hagerup-Jenssen in the department of health law and biotechnology at the Directorate of Health says that the most important thing is that it should be safe to accept blood for those who need it. – The criteria for who can donate blood and who temporarily or permanently cannot donate blood are based on statistics on the occurrence of diseases that can be transmitted via blood, she says. Ingeborg Hagerup-Jenssen in the Directorate of Health says the geographical criteria for donating blood are due to epidemiological conditions in different countries. Photo: Directorate of Health In countries south of the Sahara, there is a high incidence of diseases that can be transmitted via blood, explains the senior adviser. Therefore, a person who has stayed in these countries will have an interim or permanent quarantine. It also applies to sexual partners of those who have stayed in such a country. The duration of the cohabitation also plays a role. Hagerup-Jenssen points out that it is the individual blood bank that determines whether a person meets the requirement to donate blood. Who cannot donate blood? Persons who are not healthy. Persons under the age of 18. Persons weighing less than 50 kg. People who use drugs regularly. Exceptions are birth control pills, allergy medicine and remedies for low metabolism. In addition to this, there is a need for individual assessment by professional personnel. People who have heart, liver or lung disease, or have had a tendency to bleed, life-threatening allergic reactions or cancer. Exceptions may be basal cell carcinoma and cell changes on the cervix, contact the blood bank. Men who have or have had sexual contact with men. Minimum 12-month quarantine after last sexual contact. Women who have or have had sexual contact with men who have had sex with men receive a minimum of 6 months’ quarantine after the last sexual contact. Persons who use or have used doping substances or narcotic substances such as syringes. Persons who have or have had sexual contact with a person who uses or has used a doping agent or narcotic drug that injects, receive a minimum of 6 months’ quarantine after the last sexual contact. Persons who sell or have sold sexual services: Minimum 12-month quarantine after last sexual contact. Persons who have stayed continuously for at least 6 months in countries where malaria is widespread. Some blood banks take malaria tests. If you test negative for malaria after your stay, you can still become a blood donor. Persons who have stayed in Great Britain for more than 1 year together in the period 1980–1996 or have received a blood transfusion there after 1980. Persons who were born in America south of the USA, have a mother born in these countries or received a blood transfusion in these countries, due to the possible presence of T. cruzi. In some places, blood donors from these countries are approved if they test negative for T. cruzi and after having lived in Norway for 6 months. Persons who have stayed for more than 5 years together in Africa south of the Sahara (does not apply to Egypt, Libya, Tunis, Algeria or Morocco). The same applies if sexual partners have stayed together for more than 5 years in these areas. If you have partners from a country with a higher prevalence of Hepatitis C, you will be quarantined for 5 years after cohabitation began. If cohabitation ends, you must wait 6 months before donating blood.
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Marthe is not allowed to give blood because her husband is Somali – but he is allowed to give blood – news Nordland
