Gay men will soon be able to donate blood after the Government moved to lift donor restrictions across the UK. A lifetime ban was put in place in the UK in the 1980s as a response to the spread of Aids and HIV. But the Department of Health has said men who have not had homosexual sex within a year will now be able to donate as of November 7.
The move comes after recommendations were made to change the restrictions following a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (sabto) earlier this year.
The committee considered the risk of infection being transmitted in blood, attitudes of potential donors in complying with selection criteria and scientific improvements in the testing of donated blood.
Their advice was accepted by the health ministers in England, Scotland and Wales.
The National Aids Trust has welcomed the changes.
The organisation tweeted: “NAT welcomes the lifting of the lifetime blood ban for gay men and the new evidence-based approach.” Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the new policy was a “big improvement on the existing discriminatory rules”. But he added it fell short of lifting the ban on gay men who always used condoms.
“Most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV. If they always have safe sex with a condom, have only one partner and test HIV negative, their blood is safe to donate, ” he said.
“They can and should be allowed to help save lives by becoming donors.”
Canarian Weekly
The move comes after recommendations were made to change the restrictions following a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (sabto) earlier this year.
The committee considered the risk of infection being transmitted in blood, attitudes of potential donors in complying with selection criteria and scientific improvements in the testing of donated blood.
Their advice was accepted by the health ministers in England, Scotland and Wales.
The National Aids Trust has welcomed the changes.
The organisation tweeted: “NAT welcomes the lifting of the lifetime blood ban for gay men and the new evidence-based approach.” Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell said the new policy was a “big improvement on the existing discriminatory rules”. But he added it fell short of lifting the ban on gay men who always used condoms.
“Most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV. If they always have safe sex with a condom, have only one partner and test HIV negative, their blood is safe to donate, ” he said.
“They can and should be allowed to help save lives by becoming donors.”
Canarian Weekly
