Thousands of Gay and Bisexual men now able to give blood after NHS rule change

The NHS is relaxing rules around blood donation for gay and bisexual men in long term relationships, allowing thousands more to give blood for the first time. From the summer of 2021, the blanket ban on donations from men who have had sex with a man in the last 3 months will be loosened to allow gay and bisexual men in relationships to donate blood. Under the current system, all gay or bisexual men were told to abstain from sex for 90 days before being allowed to donate. After the new rules are implemented, any donor who has had sex with more than one person in the past three months will be able to donate as long as they didn't have anal sex, an act which carries the highest risk of STD transmission. Matt Hancock said: "I'm delighted that today, we end the exclusion of gay couples from giving blood. "This progressive policy will further our equality-agenda, & further protect lives." https://twitter.com/MattHancock/status/1338409257486741505 Conservative MP Stuart Andrew, part of campaign group FreedomtoDonate wrote in The Times: "At the start of this year, the NHS said they needed 68,000 new male donors to begin donating blood. Today, that call is answered with the achievement of one of the most pioneering policies for blood donation anywhere in the world."

But other campaigners said the new rules might not go far enough. Dr Michael Brady, medical director at Terrence Higgins Trust, told the BBC: "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 maximises the numbers who can donate while ensuring our blood supply is safe."

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