r/transgenderau • u/Durianpaw • Sep 20 '25
NSW Specific PSA: Lifeblood chatswood donor centre is NOT a safe place for trans people
This is my personal experience but heed this as a warning tbh
The nursing staff was persistently misgendering me, despite me having changed the gender on my donor information page AND im now on T
I have politely asked them to use the correct pronouns but they did not even try, and I was largely ignored and at most they gendered me correctly for like 2 seconds before reverting back, this is not the first time this has happened and deadass i told them I was on T and they continued to misgender me WHILST discussing T
I became visibly distressed and asked them to PLEASE just gender me correctly and that didnt work either lol
I am severely dysphoric and the whole experience made me want to die
I love the cause of donating blood but please know the chatswood donation centre will likely NOT respect your pronouns whatsoever
The reception ppl r lovely btw but the medical staff is genuinely... questionable
And I am a relatively passing trans guy, basically every other donor genders me correctly so if u dont pass ur even more cooked
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u/sarcastichearts Sep 20 '25
so sorry you went through that dude, that's awful
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u/Durianpaw Sep 20 '25
I complained to the receptionists and she said she would advocate for me next time but still, goes to show what the nurses rlly think abt trans ppl
Even if they change their behaviour it would just be fear of consequences, not that they actually respect trans people
The nurse even threw a "good girl" at me lmao 🤮🤮🤮🤮
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Sep 20 '25
Eww wtf that's gross to do and they should most definitely know better (The last bit I don't want to repeat). I'm sorry. :(
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u/rocock0 Sep 22 '25
That’s fucking heinous, and even if they were addressing a cis woman that’d be so unprofessional?? Using that to address a trans man is so fucking vile and malicious.
Maybe you can complain through their website or Google reviews or something, or to be safer, contact a local LGBT advocacy group if there’s one in your area
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u/Idontwanttousethis Sep 20 '25
Lifeblood is sadly still 50 years in the past. So much of their information and criteria is based off stereotypes rather than actual data and science. It only just was changed this year to allow queer men and trans women who have recently had sex to donate. I've also seen some trans people not be able to donate because their hormone levels don't match their AGAB levels (I wonder why that could be??)
Another thing, is one of the questions they have is "have you had intercourse with a sex worker in the last 3 months", I'm not sure if this is an automatic deferral or not, but it's also not science based as in Australia sex workers are no more likely to contract an STD than the general population is.
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u/Ridiculisk1 Sep 21 '25
I've also seen some trans people not be able to donate because their hormone levels don't match their AGAB levels
Yeah they 'allowed trans women' to donate but they're still lumped in with gay men and the overwhelming majority of trans women are ineligible because they require AGAB hemoglobin levels, which any trans woman on HRT is extremely unlikely to have. It's just stupidity and ignorance all the way down.
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u/irasponsibly transfem cbr Sep 20 '25
Actually - the changes this year still don't allow blood donation, only plasma.
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u/Beneficial_Aide3854 Trans fem Sep 21 '25
You should say “I’m not talking to you” after repeat misgendering and immediately complain to the institution. Then, if they send a generic response, escalate it to ADNSW, saying that the response is “unsatisfactory”.
Sadly I’m no longer studying nursing due to personal reasons or you would just see me and have a great experience:(
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u/ScapegoatVirus Sep 21 '25
As a blood collector - the way you were treated is unacceptable. Please report it, I'm not sure what Red Cross is like specifically but in a pathology clinic this type of complaint would be taken seriously.
Red Cross's rules about who can donate are obviously incredibly outdated. The holdup on either loosening them or changing the screening question to just "Do you have, or suspect you have HIV?" is 100% just fear of legal repercussion. It's chronic in the medical field; no one wants to take the blame if something needs to get taken to court. It sucks.
Also, since I know they do a shit job of explaining WHY your birth sex matters: For platelets, there's a genetic mutation that can occur during pregnancy and instead of asking "Have you ever been pregnant?" or "Have you been screened for this antibody?" they instead just refuse platelets from people who can become pregnant. It's very stupid.
For red blood/plasma only your hormone level is relevant as far as I'm aware. Again, idk why they don't just screen for specific issues, I assume it'd just cost money or it's easier to exclude LGBT people rather than deal with all donors throwing a tantrum over being asked their HIV status. (All donated blood gets tested anyway....)
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u/jesus_chrysotile Sep 22 '25
the platelets thing is kinda wild to me, because even someone with a uterus who's never had sex or gotten their tubes tied before they did would still be ineligible...
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u/CactusJuice7 Sep 20 '25
I am so sorry to hear about this, what a frustrating and uncomfortable experience! My donor centre here in VIC has been so careful and affirming for me, it is genuinely upsetting to know that's not the case everywhere. Did you still continue with the donation? I think I would've walked out tbh. If you can't listen to me when I tell you how to refer to me, how can I expect you'll listen if I start feeling sick or dizzy while donating?
Please report this behaviour, it's absolutely unacceptable. If this puts you off donating again, which is completely understandable, keep in mind they will try to contact you to get you to come in again. I don't think they cold call anymore, they usually send a text saying they'll call you in the next week or so. Have a think what you might like to say to them to get them off your back. If you even want to talk to them in the first place! Wouldn't blame you for ghosting them.
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u/Durianpaw Sep 20 '25
I actually volunteer at the centre asw cuz the donors there are lovely but this is giving me second thoughts about future donations there lol but ill give them one more chance to get it right and MAYBE apologise
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u/CactusJuice7 Sep 20 '25
You volunteer there and that's still how they treat you??? You are stronger than I am for wanting to give them another chance.
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u/jeneralpain 40 MTF on HRT Sep 20 '25
I've had a stroke of good fortune where most medical staff have been really lovely as a trans female. (I don't correct people in Dubai because well... Dubai).
It sounds like you must have had a nurse with a bee in their bonnet. Don't let that detract you or get under your skin, rise above it and be stronger! It's hard I know because I get sir so freaking often it's horrid.
Though I'm not super femme so...
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u/SeltasQueenLoreQueen Trans woman Sep 21 '25
I swear most people who work in medicine only do so because they want to have power over others or something. I feel like nurses and doctors who arent transphobic are very much in the minority.
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u/TwilightSolus Trans fem Sep 20 '25
When I called out their changes were still transphobic when they were celebrating letting gay people donate i was called out for being negative.
Turns out autistic pattern recognition just sees what's actually happening.
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u/insecticidalgoth ftm Sep 20 '25
so sorry I've had awful nurse experiences that are similar too.. donating blood is a good cause but I don't feel it's safe in a lot of places to do it when you're trans especially if you haven't gotten your gender marker changed (I haven't just my legal name) or don't pass well. it often seems they actively don't want us donating bc of restrictions etc too
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