Man throws embarrassing tantrum after being asked if he’s pregnant while donating blood
A man who refused to answer a standardised pregnancy question on a blood donation form has been mocked online.(Ollie Millington/Getty Images)
A man who complained about being asked if he was pregnant on a standardised medical form has been roasted by the internet.
As it has been widely reported, GP Dr Steffen McAndrew – who works in Prestwick, South Ayrshire – said he was “turned away” from donating blood at a centre in nearby Ayr after he refused to answer a mandatory question about whether or not he was pregnant.
The question was worded as: “Are you pregnant, or have you been pregnant in the last six months?”
The 41-year-old GP was a regular blood donor prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and booked an appointment to donate for the first time since the pandemic began.
While attending his appointment at Belmont Academy on 11 April, McAndrew said a nurse asked him if he was pregnant – as per the standard form given to everyone – and he refused to answer. This meant the appointment could not go ahead.
Steffen McAndrew claimed the question was “bonkers” and “political correctness gone mad”, only included to “placate and pacify the gender-brigade”.
He told The Herald: “I can’t believe they would refuse a donation from a man based on the fact I refused to say if I was pregnant.
“I can also understand those who have suggested, ‘just tick the box’, to enable a donation. However it is the principle of the matter.
“It’s a fundamental problem in the NHS (and society) that common sense has been lost, obliterated.”
The internet was quick to roast the GP for his over-the-top reaction to the question, where he simply could have said “no” and completed his donation.
“We’ve really failed as a society,” author and campaigner Natasha Devon wrote on Twitter. “We’ve created men whose egos are so fragile they’d rather have a tantrum and cry to the papers after being asked a question which obliquely references their gender than give a one syllable answer.”
“I just can’t get my head round the mentality of someone who would rather not donate his potentially life saving blood (assuming intended to donate in good faith) because a question on a form made him uncomfortable,” another Twitter user commented. “All he had to do was say ‘no’.”
“That question has been on medical forms as long as I can remember. It’s because they use the same form for everyone,” one person mused. “Does he think there should be pink forms for the girls [sic] and blue ones for the boys or something?”
“Imagine dunking on yourself as hard as Steffen McAndrew did by pulling this move lmao,” another wrote.
“I mean if his blood is as fragile as the rest of him do we really want it”, one user joked.
Many people who weighed in on social media also made the point that they have often been asked pregnancy questions when the situation does not apply, but understand unisex questionnaires are there to save on organisations having endless forms for different groups.
“My response to that question when it comes up in a medical setting is usually along the lines of ‘I do hope not’. No drama, just unoriginal, lame humour,” one Twitter user explained.
It was also noted that a similar question was asked of those being offered the mpox vaccine, a virus which disproportionally impacted gay and bisexual men, at the height of the recent outbreak.
“Yep, I got asked,” another user said in response. “I just said, ‘Not at the moment no.’”
The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) explained the question was introduced in April 2022 in the interests of “safety” and was there for everyone to answer, whether it personally applied to them or not.
However, the backlash has meant the SNBTS will reword the mandatory pregnancy question so people can tick ‘no’ if it is ‘not applicable’.
A spokesperson said: “Giving blood may be harmful for individuals who are pregnant, or who have been pregnant recently.
“We appreciate that for many donors (including some female donors such as post menopausal donors) this question will not be relevant.
“Following donor feedback, we are planning to update the wording of the question to ‘Are you pregnant, or have you been pregnant in the last six months? (If not applicable, please tick no).’
“This is likely to be implemented at the next donor health check update due in summer 2023.”
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