South Africa to End Racial Profiling of Blood Donors

South Africa is to stop racially profiling blood donors after an outcry over the alleged rejection of blood from black donors because of the risk of HIV.

The health ministry and the South African National Blood Service agreed yesterday that a donor's colour should not be be used to determine the risk of infected blood.

The row flared this week when the health minister, Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, discovered that alongside sexual practices and healthiness of lifestyle, the blood service used skin colour to evaluate safety for donation. "It smacks of racism," she said.

More than 5 million South Africans are estimated to have the virus which causes Aids, more than any other country. According to some figures, black people are at least twice as likely to be infected as white people.

The blood service initially said racial profiling was necessary and in line with international practice for assessing risk, but that whether a donation was from a first-time, regular or lapsed donor was more important than race.

Regular donors deemed Category 1, or the lowest risk, were either white or Indian. Category 2, slightly higher risk, comprised Indians and whites donating for the first time as well as people of mixed race. Black people were classified in categories 3 and 4 because hepatitis and HIV were deemed more widespread among Africans.

Robert Crookes, medical director of the blood service, told the South African Press Association this was the "most logical, medical, ethical and legally defensible system available".

But yesterday the blood service appeared to row back after its chief executive, Anton Heyns, met health ministry officials in Johannesburg.

"The current risk-rating model needs to be reviewed as a matter of urgency," a health department spokesman said. "Other scientific determinants should be identified and integrated into the model to determine risk more accurately."