When his mother fell ill, Karan, a 25-year-old gay man from New Delhi, hurried to donate blood. But as he filled out the mandatory form for donors, he realised he would be turned away because of his sexuality and made a snap decision. Karan, the only member of his family with the same blood group as his mother, decided to lie about being gay, potentially risking prosecution. “I was … scared of being caught (but) at that time, the only thing that mattered to me was my mother,” said Karan, whose full name is not being published to protect his identity.