Thank you very much.
On the point as to who should sign to be a donor, I think every Canadian should. You're not automatically excluded as an organ donor based on this high-risk criterion. I think that needs to be clear.
On the high-risk behaviours, I think they're very difficult to interpret. As the ADM said, the newest statistics show that 40% of the new cases of HIV are within the men having sex with men group. I think many people have interpreted that to mean that they're below the half; 60% are in the other group.
That statistic is 40% of the new cases, which represents a population group of approximately 5%. If we estimate that the gay and lesbian community is approximately one in ten--10% of us are gay and lesbian--approximately half of them are gay men, so that would be 40% of the cases, over 5%, versus 60% of the cases, over 95%, the rest of the population. That's what makes it a risk factor.
Again, it's not to say that every gay man is involved in risky sexual activity, unprotected sex, etc. The question is at that level because that's what's reported on. We depend on the science. The science reports on the category of men having sex with men, so that's what we have used.
Also, as the ADM pointed out, when are we actually asking these questions, and who are we asking in the case of organ donation? We're asking the next of kin. We're asking a family member, who has just recently lost perhaps the most important person in their life. The question of whether a loved one, a man, has had sex with a man is something they may not be able to answer, but I think it's the highest level when you're talking to a parent or a sibling.
As the mother of a 21-year-old gay man, I could not tell you in an interview that my son has protected sex. I don't know the last time he had sex. I don't know how many sexual partners he has. I don't know if he has anal intercourse. That is not information I have. But I can very clearly, and without hesitation, tell you my son is a man who has sex with other men.
In the context of where this organ donation occurs in the case of deceased donors, this is the question. It is not meant to be discriminatory; it is based on science. We are still at a point where 40% of the new cases exist in approximately 5% of the population. That is a very important fact.
Thank you.