The government has announced a landmark rule change that will make it easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood in England.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock today (December 14) announced new criteria would be introduced in the summer where anyone who has had one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than three months will be eligible to give blood.
The criteria will apply to anyone regardless of their gender, their partners gender, or the kind of sex they have.
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, Mr Hancock said.
"This is a positive step and recognises individuals for the actions they take, rather than their sexual preference.
The move has been championed by LGBT+ advocates as it will now make it easier for gay and bisexual men to donate blood.
Since 2017, men who have sex with men have been unable to donate blood until three months after their last sexual activity.
However, the new criteria will come with some restrictions. Donors who have had more than one sexual partner or a new partner in the last three months will only be able to donate blood if they have not had anal sex.
People using HIV-preventative medicine, such as PrEP or PEP, will still be unable to donate blood.
The new criteria is based on findings from the For the Assessment of Individualised Risk (FAIR) report, which suggested moving away from the blanket three-month ban and instead identifying a range of highest risk behaviours that apply to all donors.
NHS Blood and Transport will now assess any potential risks through its donor health check questionnaire.
The government has insisted the new changes will have no impact on the safety of blood donated in the UK.
By closely examining the latest evidence relating to blood donation and sexual behaviour, we have been able to bring forward a more inclusive policy to allow people to safely donate blood to save lives, Lord Bethell, Minister for Blood Donation, said.
I am grateful to the members of the FAIR steering group, including LGBT charities, for the work they have done over the last 18 months to enable us to bring this policy, which many have called for, to fruition.
FreedomToDonate, a pressure group that has campaigned for fair and equal blood donation, welcomed the changes and said it would encourage more people to donate blood.
Almost 6 years ago, our group of volunteers set out to rewrite the rules that had perpetuated inequality and prevented thousands of potentially safe donors from donating for too long, Ethan Spibey, Founder and Director of FreedomToDonate, said.
Today, we welcome a pioneering new policy and are immensely proud that more people than ever will be able to fairly give the life-saving gift of blood.
Working with the NHS Blood and Transplants steering group, we have moved the UK from a population-based risk assessment, which excluded too many people who would otherwise have been able to safely donate for no reason other than their sexuality, to an individualised risk assessment, which will look at each donors individual risk profile.
At the start of 2020, the blood service announced it needed 68,000 new male donors to begin donating blood.
"Today sees both that need and the potential of so many safe donors fulfilled.
Nancy Kelley, Chief Executive of Stonewall, added that while the change represented an important first step, there was still a need to address issues relating to minority communities.
Ms Kelley said: While we welcome todays news, we know much more still needs to be done to tackle the challenges that lead to gay and bi men, along with other groups of people including black African communities, sex workers, and trans communities, being at higher risk of acquiring HIV and other STIs.
The recommendations of the HIV Commission set out a clear roadmap for achieving the UK governments commitment to ending new HIV infections by 2030, and we will continue to work with the government and other charities to make this a reality.
The rest is here:
More gay and bisexual men will be able to donate blood following government's 'landmark' rule change - Manchester Evening News
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