More Gay and Bisexual Men Can Give Blood After U.K. Rule Change

Blood donation rules that apply to gay and bisexual men are changing in the U.K. in a step campaigners have called "a milestone day for equality".

All blood donors who have had one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than three months will now be eligible to donate regardless of their gender, the gender of their partner or the type of sex they have. Under previous rules, all men who have sex with men had to abstain from sex for three months in order to donate due to the risk of HIV. The policy has long been seen to generalize and discriminate against gay and bisexual men.

The government is calling the move a "landmark change" and means men who have sex with men in a long-term relationship will now be able to donate blood at any time. The changes will be implemented by summer 2021 and apply across all U.K. nations. The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs - which advises U.K. health departments - recommended the changes after examining the latest evidence relating to blood donation and sexual behavior. If donors have had more than one sexual partner or a new partner in the last three months, they can donate as long as they have not had anal sex as that is one of the sexual behaviors that carry the most risk of a sexually transmitted infection, the committee said.

Acknowledging that "all donors" have the potential to carry infections, including heterosexual men and women, the government claims the U.K. has now become one of the first countries in the world to adopt a "more individualized risk-based approach" to donor selection criteria.

The For Assessment of Individualised Risk (Fair) steering group, a collaboration of U.K. blood services and LGBT+ charities, conducted extensive research into the risks associated with more individualized blood donor selection policies. Fair's report proposed a move away from the blanket three-month deferral for men who have had sex with men and to a wider range of "high-risk behaviors" which apply to all blood donors, regardless of their sexuality. Health Secretary Matt Hancock called this a "positive step" as it recognizes individuals for the actions they take "rather than their sexual preference" when it comes to donations.

"This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the opportunity to help save lives," Hancock said.

Member of Parliament Luke Pollard, who is gay, said on Twitter: "Today is a milestone day for equality. Thank you to @FreedomToDonate @THTorguk and other groups for campaigning to change the rules to allow gay and bi men to give blood. Securing safety of blood is top priority and individual behavior, not old generalizations, should be the focus."

Su Brailsford, Associate Medical Director at NHS Blood and Transplant and chair of Fair said the changes will maintain the safety standards of Britain's blood supply. "Patients rely on the generosity of donors for their lifesaving blood and so we welcome the decision to accept the Fair recommendations in full," she said. "We are proud to have the safest blood supply in the world and I'm pleased to have concluded that these new changes to donor selection will keep blood just as safe."

Campaigners also welcomed the relaxation of rules. Ethan Spibey, the founder of the campaign group FreedomToDonate, has campaigned for six years for the restrictions on men who have sex with men donating blood to be updated. "Simply being a man who has sex with men is not a good enough reason to exclude someone from donating blood," he said.

Dr. Michael Brady, medical director at the HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, said the move was "great news" and added: "There is certainly more work to do and we will continue to work to ensure that our blood donation service is inclusive, evidence-based and both maximizes the numbers who can donate while ensuring our blood supply is safe."

Charities Stonewall and the National AIDS Trust both welcomed the step, but said more needs to be done to tackle the challenges that lead to gay and bisexual men, along with other groups of people including black African communities, sex workers, and transgender communities, being at higher risk of acquiring HIV and other STIs.

"We now need to see action on the endemic health inequalities that lead to the disproportionate impact of HIV on some groups. This includes the government meeting its commitment to end new HIV transmissions by 2030 and implementing the findings of the HIV Commission, which set out how this can be achieved," National AIDS Trust chief Deborah Gold said.