Scottish blood donor Leslie Sinclair could not donate because he refused to answer if he was pregnant on the pre-donation questionnaire..“There is always a form to fill in, and that’s fine. They tend to ask about medical conditions or diseases and clearly, that’s because the blood needs to be safe,” Sinclair told the Daily Mail..“This time around, there was a question I hadn’t seen before — Are you pregnant, or have you been in the last six months? Which required a 'yes' or 'no' answer.”.It frustrated Sinclair that his blood cannot go to help people in need because of a question he cannot answer on the form that asked if he was expecting a child or had been pregnant in the past six months..“It is nonsensical and it makes me angry because there are vulnerable people waiting for blood, including children, and in desperate need of help. But they’ve been denied my blood because of the obligation to answer a question that can’t possibly be answered,” said Sinclair..Sinclair is age 66 and has donated 125 pints of blood since he turned 18..When he complained that a 66-year-old man should not have to answer the pregnancy-related question, the blood clinic staff told him they could not accept his blood..“I am angry because I have been giving blood since I was 18 and have regularly gone along. I’m very happy to do so without any problem,” said Sinclair..The new blood donation form is all-inclusive, according to the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service director, Marc Turner..“We appreciate the support of each and every one of our donor community and thank Mr. Sinclair for his commitment over a long number of years,” Turner told the Daily Mail..Turner said that someone’s sex assigned at birth does not always line up with what staff see..“Whilst pregnancy is only a relevant question to those whose biological sex, or sex assigned at birth, is female, sex assigned at birth is not always visually clear to staff,” said Turner..“As a public body, we take cognizance [sic] of changes in society around how such questions may be asked without discrimination and have a duty to promote inclusiveness. Therefore, all donors are now asked the same questions.”.Sinclair told the clinic staff that if he left, he would not come back to donate blood again and the staff refused to accept his blood without answering the pregnant question..“I pointed out to the staff that it was impossible for me to be in that position, but I was told that I would need to answer, otherwise I couldn’t give blood,” said Sinclair..“I told them that was stupid and that if I had to leave, I wouldn’t be back, and that was it. I got on my bike and cycled away.”
