To #54 and the rest of the screaming hoards. Yes, most countries have such restrictions. Certainly Norway does. Maybe you are the idiot. Because the rules are there for the safety of the recipient, not the sensitivity of possible donors. No less than anywhere else. And many other smart people arriving.

they throw the blood out so as not to offend the people rather than just deny it. This includes the US! It is more cost effective to deny the donation than to test it after the fact.

I am a white ex Zimbabwean now living in Israel. MDA quite rightly wont touch either my blood or that of my wife because we orginate from a country that is rife with HIV/AIDS. This has nothing to do with racism and I am sure those who are on their pedestals at the moment would be shouting even louder if they were infected with blood donated by someone who has HIV

AIDS is easily tested for and certainly no reason for banning whole population groups. Homosexuals can donate so what have you achieved except making yourself look bad. The mad cow scare is even more pathetic. Mad cow is endemic to North Africa but Eastern Jews are free to donate blood. A few cases where tainted meat got sold is not a reason for banning anyone.

and MDA will not accept my blood...so what?...yeah go ahead miss eithiopian MK...play the race card so you can feel wronged and discriminated against..maybe you can get a class action suit and some money..

As English Oleh I have also been prevented from donating blood because of mad cow disease So the policy is not racialist rather just cautious

This is a non-story that has been blown up into a racism story. I have tried for the last 12 years to donate blood but mine is not accepted either.

Why did the jewish ethiopian were brought to Israël for ? They are being discriminated on a daily basis wether they look for jobs , appartement and even for there blood !! This is disgusting the israeli is sick of racism and i talk as a lover of this country

Why is ur blood refused? Are you gay?

There is definately a problem with the MDA rules over who can and who cannot donate blood but i don't think it is based on racism - they are just dumb!! A rule was applied many years ago regarding Ethiopian immigrants (perhaps justly so because of fears about Hepatitus and the cost of checking every sample) but they forgot to change theis rule as time passed. I can't donate blood because i lived in England for a year in the period from 1980 to 1995 a period when there was a fear of "mad cow" disease. it doesn't matter that there were maybe 2 cases of people being infected in the whole of this period - for MDA this cancelled out all donations of anyone who was in England during this period. Mad !!

Actually, it had nothing to do with hepatitis -- and everything to do with tuberculosis.

Sarah, in all the years you have been on this forum, you have never belittled me! Your style can never be copied.

This article gives wrongly a strong detrimental image of Israel. My mother in law is specialised in blood transfusions in France. A blood group is not the only criterion for having interest in a blood donor. Many sub-groups also exist. Blood also expires after some time. It is accordingly very probable that blood of an Ethiopian if of poor interest just because there are too few Ethiopians or people with similar blood compatibility in Israel. There is no racism here; and a similar situation exists also in France (I would guess everywhere) with some rare populations.

Not all British have the disease - in fact virtually none.

If my country persists in destroying itself through idiocy I will continue trying to point out its idiocy. Naturally the idiots won't like it.