Saisha Shinde Reveals She Was Barred From Donating Blood As She’s Transgender, Calls Medical Guidelines “Discriminatory”

Saisha Shinde Reveals She Was Barred From Donating Blood As She’s Transgender, Calls Medical Guidelines “Discriminatory”

Even in 2022, we live in a world where there are biases against people from the LGBTQ+ community and while it has been spoken up about time and again, not much has changed. Recently, Designer Saisha Shinde opened up about how she tried to donate blood but was informed by authorities that she won’t be allowed to donate blood due to medical guidelines that state that transgenders and homosexuals are not permitted to donate blood as they are considered to be in the high-risk category of illnesses.

 

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A post shared by Saisha (@officialsaishashinde)

In a recent interview, Lock Upp contestant and designer Saisha Shinde revealed that she was on the way to donate blood and midway she received a call from the authorities informing her that she cannot do so due to “medical guidelines”. She then did her research and found out that the law states that people from a high-risk category namely transgenders, gay men and lesbians cannot donate blood. As per the guidelines, transgender and homosexual people come in the category of people who are at high risk of contracting and carrying STDs. Speaking about the same, the designer said that the irony is that two years ago she was able to donate blood but changing her identity has barred her from donating blood. “As if my blood has changed. But it’s not . I could be carrying those diseases as a gay man. It is beyond discriminatory,” said was quoted saying by Hindustan Times.

 

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A post shared by Saisha (@officialsaishashinde)

Also Read: Exclusive: Vidur Sethi Opens Up About Being Bollywood’s First Openly Queer Actor, Working With Onir In His Debut Film And More

Speaking further, Saisha Shinde revealed that this happened during Pride month, i.e., in June when the world celebrated the LGBTQ+ community. Discussing the same, the designer said that for her Pride month is not limited to just one month while adding that Trans visibility should not be limited to just one month instead it should happen all the time. She further added that she should not be put on magazine covers and interviewed only during the Pride month because the achievements of the LGBTQ+ community happen throughout the year. She went on to add that she usually jokes with her friends that she makes the most money during Pride month because she gets more collaborations and projects during that time and for her, this time of the year is nothing more than a cash register. “It is sad because everyone wants to talk about how inclusive we are or how we have made collections inspired by pride. But how much of that is actually benefitting the community. No one’s taking the accountability of that,” said the designer.

 

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A post shared by Saisha (@officialsaishashinde)

Also Read: Hautetalk: Did The Pride Month Lose Its Meaning Somewhere Along The Way?

Well, we do agree. Pride month has become just another way for brands to promote themselves as inclusive and once the month is over, they pack everything up, change their logo back to the usual colour and put and end to their “inclusive” voice and tonality. But shouldn’t inclusivity happen every single day of every single year? While I may not be an expert in medicine but I believe as sexually active humans, we’re all at the risk of STDs and not just the homosexuals or transgender folks.

Here Are 12 Anime With LGBTQ+ Themes You Should Be Watching This Pride Month

Janvi Manchanda

​​She uses her pen to slice through patriarchy. She could be Geet one day, Wednesday Addams next. Writing is the bane of her existence and the object of all her desires!

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