OUTRAGE OVER RACE-RELATED DONOR FORM QUESTIONS

The Western Cape Blood Service is under pressure to revise its donor questionnaire amid criticism for asking racial information

- NICOLA DANIELS

THE Western Cape Blood Service (WCBS) is reviewing its donor questionnaire following pressure from People Against Race Classification (Parc) to change the requirement to state your race when donating blood.

The service said they now plan to add an “other” option, and is considering a “prefer not to say” option.

Parc had flagged their concerns with the WCBS through several letters, saying they took offence that the questionnaire to be completed by those who want to donate blood asked for racial information.

“I have been a blood donor in this country for many years. I am not a Coloured, Black, Indian or White person. Why don't you also add an option for a person not to complete his race data? Or why not add more ethnic identities like, Khoi-San, Zulu, Afrikaner, Pedi, etc. The arguments regarding the need for this data is commonly known but not accepted. The WCBS as part of the science and medical fraternity, has no obligation to report on which blood was donated by which race. The necessity to know a person’s race has no medical implication on what patient could use whose blood. You have no legal leg to support this practice. The Population Registration Repeal Act of 1991 has repealed all uses of race criteria,” Parc founder Glen Snyman wrote.

On March 13, Parc’s action team visited the Western Cape Blood donation Service's Head Quarters in Cape Town where they held a demonstration with placards in hand calling for the race blocks on the donation forms to be removed.