A jury found there was a business interest in CSL Plasma turning away Lisa Scott.

AP / Jose F. Moreno

A federal jury in Minnesota has ruled against a transgender woman in a leading case over discrimination at a blood bank. Although the jurors agreed that CSL Plasma turned away Lisa Scott because she is transgender, they also believed the company had a legitimate business reason to do so. "CSL Plasma is pleased with the court’s favorable decision," Robert Mitchell, the director of marketing for CSL Plasma's U.S. operations, told BuzzFeed News on Friday.

The jury's March 9 verdict does not set a legal precedent like a judge’s opinion would, but the decision raises questions about the viability of similar claims of discrimination at blood banks, including a lawsuit by another transgender woman against the same plasma company in Washington State.

Blood banks turn away transgender people routinely around the country, attorneys and LGBT advocates told BuzzFeed News.

John Klassen, a lawyer for Lisa Scott, who filed the case, explained, "This is a hard case to win."

The case highlights a tension between nondiscrimination laws and murky rules for blood donations.

Florida-based CSL Plasma had argued in court briefs that federal rules ban all transgender people from donating blood, and that transgender people a have higher rate of HIV than the general population.

CSL's Mitchell explained by email on Friday, "Our position is always to follow the guidance provided by regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration and other government agencies to ensure the safety of the plasma we collect." But Klassen contended that here is no such federal policy banning transgender people from donating blood. He stood by the lawsuit's allegation that CSL Plasma violated a Minnesota state law that prohibits businesses open to the public from discriminating against transgender people. He said that the verdict form used by jurors should have asked whether the company’s ban on transgender donors broke that state law — not if there was a business interest. “We are very disappointed,” Klassen continued, adding that the judge chose the verdict form’s questions and the case was before “a very conservative jury.” “When the judge asked what social and civic groups jurors belonged to, I think 10 out of the 12 said they are active in their church,” said Klassen. “That is not going to be the most favorable jury pool for a claim like this.” The case started in 2008, when Scott visited a CSL Plasma center in Minneapolis, according to records in U.S. District Court. When a nurse found out Scott was transgender, the nurse allegedly told Scott, “You people can’t give plasma … We can’t take plasma from your type.”

The nurse also allegedly said that Scott had “taken part in risky behaviors.” The Minnesota Human Rights Commission found the blood bank had violated the state’s human rights law.

"Our position is always to follow the guidance provided by regulators," said CSL Plasma.