"Barriers are predominantly rooted in the restrictive and racist policies adopted by the blood donation system in Canada, in the individual, institutional and structural experiences of racism in the healthcare system, and the distrust that historical race relations have established in Canada," writes Dr. Jude Mary Cénat, a professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa and the University of Ottawa Research Chair on Black Health with coauthors.
Sickle cell disease mostly affects people of African, Middle Eastern and South Asian backgrounds and is often treated with red blood cell transfusions matched specifically. However, there is a lack of Black donors and donors from many other ethnic groups to meet needs.
Hema-Quebec manages blood donations in Quebec and Canadian Blood Services is responsible in the country's other provinces and territories.
To understand the barriers to blood donation facing Black people in Canada, researchers from the Interdisciplinary Centre for Black Health at the University of Ottawa in Ottawa, Ontario, conducted a qualitative study with 42 Black adults. Most were highly educated with a bachelor's degree or higher and 57% identified as women.
Key barriers:
- Restrictive blood donation policies - Canada's policies differ from other G7 countries, where people have donated but been denied donating in Canada. For example, previous malaria infections are a major barrier to donating blood in Canada, but many other countries have removed these restrictive policies (including the U.S. and France) that prevent Black people to donate blood.
- Institutional and systemic racism in health system - Negative experiences with health care institutions created mistrust in blood donation systems and skepticism as to whether Black donors would be respected and treated fairly.
- Historic anti-Black racism - This has contributed to Black people feeling devalued and fearing rejection or harm during blood donation
- Lack of confidence in the blood donation system - Based on negative historical and personal experiences with the health system
"Our study offers clear and novel insights into contemporary barriers to blood donation among Black people across Canada. The findings should be useful to both organizations responsible for managing blood donation in Canada (CBS and Héma-Québec) by helping them remove these barriers, which predispose Black people to anti-Black racism, causing further harm to Black patients in Canada. Additionally, our study will help implement effective communication and engagement campaigns among Black people, while respecting their cultural values, considering their history of oppression in Canadian society, and their distrust of the healthcare system and blood donation institutions," write the authors.
"Our blood is not pure enough": a qualitative study to understand systemic racial barriers to blood donation for Black people in Canada" by J. Cénat, R. Dalexis, W. Darius and S. Pakhalé was published August 24, 2026. DOI: 10.1503/cmaj.250123.
