Parliament Workbench
Data: Official Report to 12 Nov 2026

Official Report · Committee

Current Petitions

Blood Donation (PE1135)

Tuesday 10 February 2009 Public Petitions Committee Petitions 3 contributions · 2 speakers

Speakers

Choose an MSP to read only their contributions

The record

3 contributions
Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
link

The next petition is PE1135 from Rob McDowall, calling on the Scottish Parliament to urge the Scottish Government to review existing guidelines and risk assessment procedures to allow healthy gay and bisexual men to donate blood. The petitioner has been in front of the committee, and there has been much discussion of the issue in the committee. There are issues awaiting deliberation by Government and by the agencies relating to the collection of blood in Scotland.

Bill Butler Lab Glasgow Anniesland
link

We could go for the option of closing the petition, but I do not think that we should. However, I think that we should suspend the petition, if that is possible. I am sure that colleagues would be averse to supporting a petition without the full knowledge that we as lay people can gain from doctors and scientists. Without the consideration that will be taken forward by the Health Protection Agency in England, and the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and the Scottish Government, we should not pronounce on the petition one way or t'other.We should simply await those investigations by medically qualified folk. When we see what they recommend, perhaps we will be able to pronounce on the matter, but I am certainly not willing to pronounce on it one way or t'other when scientific investigation is still being done. We should proceed on the basis of scientific evidence. I suggest that we suspend a decision on the petition, rather than close it.

Frank McAveety Lab The Convener · Glasgow Shettleston
link

Do other members agree?Members indicated agreement.

In this meeting

Everything on 10 Feb 2009 →
  1. Scottish Parliament Public Petitions Committee Tuesday 10 February 2009 Petitions · 2
  2. Current Petitions Petitions · 1
  3. Current Petitions Petitions · 58
  4. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  5. Current Petitions Petitions · 4
  6. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  7. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  8. Current Petitions Petitions · 13
  9. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  10. Current Petitions Petitions · 11
  11. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  12. Current Petitions Petitions · 7
  13. Current Petitions Petitions · 11
  14. Current Petitions Petitions · 1
  15. Current Petitions Petitions · 7
  16. Current Petitions Petitions · 9
  17. Current Petitions Petitions · 1
  18. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  19. Current Petitions Petitions · 5
  20. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  21. Current Petitions Petitions · 6
  22. Current Petitions Petitions · 5
  23. Current Petitions Petitions · 6
  24. Current Petitions Petitions · 4
  25. Current Petitions Petitions · 3
  26. Current Petitions Petitions · 8
  27. Current Petitions Petitions · 25
  28. Current Petitions Petitions · 6
  29. Current Petitions Petitions · 9
  30. Current Petitions Petitions · 6
  31. Current Petitions Petitions · 5
  32. Current Petitions Petitions · 10
  33. Current Petitions Petitions · 13
  34. Current Petitions Petitions · 7
  35. New Petitions (Notification) Petitions · 3

The type of each item (debate, statement, questions, members’ business and so on) and the times shown are worked out by this site from headings, the chair’s opening words and the Official Report’s running timestamps. They are not the Parliament’s own classification. Text: the Scottish Parliament Official Report.