Britain is lifting its lifetime ban on gay men giving blood, and reducing the criteria to men who have not had sex with another man within a year. A lifetime ban on blood donation by men who have had sex with another man was introduced in Britain in the 1980s as a response to the spread of AIDS and HIV. A review by a panel of leading experts and patient groups found it could no longer support their permanent exclusion. However, men who have had anal or oral sex with another man in the past 12 months, with or without a condom, will still be barred from donating blood. The change brings the criteria for men who have had sex with men into line with women who have slept with a man who has had sex with another man, people who have slept with prostitutes and those who have had intercourse with anyone who has injected themselves with drugs. In New Zealand gay men can only donate blood if they have not had sex with another man in five years, a limit which was reduce d from ten years in 2009.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Friday, 9th September 2011 - 10:37am