From 2021, gay and bisexual men who are committed to a single partner will be allowed to donate blood in the United Kingdom. The new laws will partly end restrictions that were placed on gay and bisexual men who have sex with members of the same sex, NPR reports. The restrictions were placed in the 1980s. During that period, HIV/AIDS infections were prevalent amongst men who have sex with men (MSM).
Gay and bisexual men who are not committed to one partner will only be allowed to donate if they have not had sex at least three months before the time they wish to donate blood. The UK is not the only country that restricted blood donation from the MSM population during the HIV/AIDS crisis. This is because public healthcare experts argued that sexually active gay men could easily contract HIV and other STDs at a rate higher than others.
Members of the LGBTQ+ community have denounced the restrictions, describing them as baseless and stereotypical. The members of the community said that with the blood screening methods that are available now, the dangers posed by such donation is quite minimal.
“This very historic development takes into consideration actions taken by individuals, rather than their sexual orientation,” Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care.
The new law in the UK has been commended by members of the LGBTQ community, but many are urging the country to lift the restrictions completely. The CEO of Stonewall, Nancy Kelley, stated that the new laws will ensure that more members of the gay community make potential life-saving donations. Kelley commended the law for working based on individuals’ precautions rather than generalizing. Stonewall is an LGBTQ advocacy group.
The UK restrictions started in the 1980s. Men who had ever had sexual relations with other males were banned from donating blood. In 2011, the restrictions were lowered; mandating gay or bisexual men to refrain from sex with other men at least a year before donating blood. In 2017, those restrictions were eased again, mandating only three months of abstinence from sex, CNN writes.
Other countries including Malaysia, Croatia, Ukraine, and Singapore still exclude gay and bisexual men from blood donation. Spain and Italy are amongst countries that allow all categories of people including gay and bisexual men to donate blood. Before April 2020, gay and bisexual men in the United States had to wait at least a year after they have had sex with other men to donate blood. Since April, the waiting period has been shortened to three months.
Blood donors in the United Kingdom have to answer questions involving their lifestyle. Men must confirm that they have not had sex with other men while females must verify that they have not had sex with men who have had sex with other men.
Source: npr.org
