Government expected to reduce gay blood donor restriction
By Ross Semple
The government is expected to announce a reduction in the time gay and bisexual men have to wait before giving blood.
The Independent reports that an advisory committee has decided that the current restriction period of 12 months should be reduced to three. This will make it easier for gay men to give blood.
Currently, those affected by the restrictions (men who have sex with men) must wait 12 months after their last sexual encounter to donate blood.
A lifetime ban on blood donations for men who sleep with men, and trans people assigned male at birth, was in place from 1981 until 2011 in most of the UK, when the 12-month deferral policy was introduced. However, Northern Ireland didn’t relax restrictions until September last year.
The reduction from 12 to three months is believed to be due to better testing measures, which can detect HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or syphilis within three months.
Ethan Spibey of Freedom to Donate, a group that campaigns for the rights of queer men to give blood, was a member of the advisory committee. Responding to the decision, he said: “There is a consensus that there will be a drastic reduction and it’s fantastic to hear that.”
“Three months would be a world-leading policy,” he said. “Eventually we want a blood donation policy that is fair and tailored to each donor, but it’s all about moving towards that model.”
He continued: “Although we get that heterosexual people are statistically less likely to contract a blood infection, we can’t say every gay man is a high-risk individual. We need a policy that recognises what is high risk without applying it to entire homogeneous groups.
“In all credit to the Government, they have realised this is something that needs looking at.”
The lifetime blood ban was put in place during the height of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the 12-month deferral was introduced in 2011. The government first commission a review of this waiting period in 2015.
Scotland may become the first place in the UK to allow men who sleep with men and transgender people who were assigned male at birth, to donate blood restriction-free. Members of the Scottish parliament debated the measure in November.
More news:
Texas bill would allow adoption agencies to ban gays due to ‘religious objections’
Will & Grace return teased in poster reveal