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12 Apr 2011

UK: Gay men can donate blood – but only if they have been celibate for a decade

Gay men in UK may soon be allowed to donate blood but only as long as they have not had sex with another man in the past decade.

British authorities are expected to lift a lifetime ban on homosexual men donating blood. Gay men will however only be permitted to donate if they have not had sexual intercourse for a decade, reported the UK Telegraph on April 10. Men who are or have recently been sexually active with other men will continue to be barred from giving blood.

The Telegraph reports: "The changes were instigated by Sabto, the advisory committee on the safety of blood, tissues and organs, which had concluded that if the ban were replaced by a new rule preventing gay men from giving blood for five years after having sex with another man, the risk of HIV reaching the blood supply would go up by less than 5%. It is estimated that this figure would halve if the “deferral” period were increased to 10 years, so ministers backed this option. The 10-year delay also ensures that people who are not aware they have contracted HIV do not pass it on accidentally."

[Caption]

The report says Anne Milton, the public health minister, is expected to announce the changes within weeks and she is understood to be backed by Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary, and Lynne Featherstone, the Equalities Minister.

It also noted that the current system is based on trust as there are no checks to ensure donors are telling the truth about their sexuality. Some seven per cent of sexually active gay men are thought to give blood despite the ban.

The Department of Health has not yet commented.

Blanket ban since 1977

Many countries including US and Canada prohibit men who have had sex with other men even once since 1977 from donating blood. The blanket ban was first instituted in 1985 by the US Food and Drug Administration in response to the AIDS crisis, and later adopted by many countries worldwide. The 1985 provision argued that men who have sex with other men are at higher risk of contracting and transmitting HIV and hepatitis, posing a health risk to potential recipients. At the time, HIV testing was unavailable and little was known about HIV/AIDS. 

Over the years, the F.D.A. has re-examined the ban at the insistence of lobby groups but maintains that the restriction is necessary to keep the blood supply safe and untainted by HIV. Today, donated blood is routinely screened for H.I.V. and other infectious agents. Advancements in HIV screenings now presents a window period of just 9-11 days using the newer but less common nucleic acid test (NAT) compared with using the common antibody test which has a window period of 2-8 weeks.

Critics say the ban is scientifically and medically unjustified and that it unfairly singles out gay men.

"The ban is also discriminatory in that it unfairly targets gay and bisexual men because it does not distinguish between high-risk and low-risk MSM, banning potential MSM donors who are HIV-negative and consistently practice safe sex or are in long-term monogamous relationships, while others with a significantly higher risk of HIV infection are subject to less restrictive deferrals or none at all." Wrote Adam Bink on Bilerico.com.

Italy and Spain do not mention MSM in their blood donor screening criteria while other countries have instituted a deferral period since last exposure: New Zealand (five years); Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Hungary, Japan (one year); and South Africa (six months).

United Kingdom

Reader's Comments

Comment #1 was deleted by its author on 2011-08-13 17:49
2. 2011-04-12 18:31  
Thats ridiculous how does one PROVE celibacy? you can't you can only take a persons word on it, there is no test for celibacy, to quote the only great American I know of "DUH!" (Homer Simpson) and how would a heterosexual donating blood prove they have not had sexual relations with a person who is HIV+ . Me thinks some one needs to get their heads screwed on right in the British Medical establishment.
3. 2011-04-12 19:28  
lol, homophobic vampires?
4. 2011-04-12 19:39  
See the word, " CELIBACY" about a gay person. Somehow.. so sad to interlink these two.
While, Please stay objectively, since statistic shows the reasons why gay blood is banned substantially. PLU should be educated the conformity.
I once with kind-hearted walk in compound of blood donation ended up exit without donation during form application asked: "Do you ever have sexual relationship with same sex?", upon consult the counter, i withdrew.
5. 2011-04-12 19:44  
Show me a gay man who's been celibate for ten years, and I'll show you an immaculate conceptiion......
6. 2011-04-12 20:11  
this is ridiculous when i heard it on the radio. Is probably the most hypocrite things i ever heard. Is almost like when some people said, "oh i am cool with gay people, as long as its not in my family."
7. 2011-04-12 20:22  
I'm standing on the fence on this issue coz I understand the reason behind the measures they took, although it might have been worded inappropriately. we certainly do not want to see the spread of HIV/AIDS to more innocent lives (especially children) and let's face it, it would be fair to assume that homosexuals do tend to engage in riskier behaviour.
8. 2011-04-12 20:26  
some education needs to be shed on this topic. gay straight bi transgenered, its a screen to ensure your blood is safe to be shared.

Even if your a sexually active gay man or woman, your blood will be tested before it is transfused anyway...
Comment #9 was deleted by its author on 2011-08-13 17:49
10. 2011-04-12 21:03  
ah yes, Hong Kong has the same laws. i've heard of people being denied here on the grounds of simply kissing a person of the same sex. oh how modern "asia's world city" is :)
11. 2011-04-12 21:19  
lol who cares?
then they can just not have our blood :P

more for us...
12. 2011-04-12 22:01  
Hahahaha......The British Public Health minister must be taking a long vacation from reality, completely divorced from the facts that humans being sexual animals DO HAVE INTERCOURSE irrespective of the fact that they are straight or gay. I myself being gay, hmmm, for the past 4 or so decade have not come across another gay person who has not had sex with another man for ten years...be celibate for 10 years....Hellooooo..even 10 days is an eternity...I nearly fell out of my chair laughing at this ridiculous suggestion.

I think perhaps the whole Health MInistry should be consulting another of their own Ministry...The Psychiatric Department. The cantonese slang for this would very aply be...chee lun seen....
13. 2011-04-12 22:11  
I have been celibate for 11 years because I have not been in love with anyone for that long. I do not care whether someone is gay or straight, I wouldn't want blood from someone who is promiscuous.
14. 2011-04-13 00:48  
OMG! This article really confused me as i am a donor, I made sure i am clean before I donote, yet the words celibate & window period killed my kindness to save lives in need of blood!! ... Is it wrong to donate blood as gay??? even though we have the responsibility to make sure we are Virus free before donation??? I see no reason why we are discriminated if we know what we are doing .... BUT I do realised from my surrounding indeed some people who donate blood without knowing what the consequences ... Sad to know that ... so what's next? Donate or not???? - Simon (Not Leeb)
Comment edited on 2011-04-13 00:49:45
15. 2011-04-13 00:51  
Can anyone tell me the ratio of gay people with hiv to hetero people with hiv?

is that that the gay numbers are way higher?

curious
16. 2011-04-13 01:19  
If a gay man has gone TEN YEARS with absolutely no sex, then his blood would be far too boring to donate, anyway. :P
17. 2011-04-13 02:14  
Anyway, donors are not the one who is benefitting from the donation. So whose lost is it?
18. 2011-04-13 04:12  
I used to donate about once a year, back when I was "straight", promiscuous, and having sex only with women. The American Red Cross loved me because I'm type O+ ("universal donor"). They would phone me regularly to set up my next donation appointment.

Then in my early 30s I started dating guys. When the next Red Cross phone call came, I answered "Yes" when asked if I ever had sex with a man. They blacklisted me, because that was the last time I ever heard from them.

When screening donated blood, they should use the NAT test for HIV. And they should ask potential donors if they have had sex with *anyone* in the past two weeks, since anyone (straight, gay, drug users, blood transfusion and organ recipients, whoever) can unknowingly be carrying the virus.
19. 2011-04-13 05:12  
Why do they want to ruin everything for me? First my near-perfect 'get-out-of-jail' card, 'I'm gay!' was taken from me by those damn Reform Jews, Liberal Christians, etc, in the whole ball-and-chain dispute; then that rock of ages, the US military, turned with the wind. Now I might have to actually give blood???!!! Nooo!!! Not until they invent those damn hypersprays in Star Trek!!!
20. 2011-04-13 07:27  
We still have a blanket ban in Australia too. I know plenty of hetros who are sleep around, yet they can donate?? Madness!!
21. 2011-04-13 07:37  
Reading the article makes me clueless and reading all the aboved comments more confused so i assumed they need bloods from virgins!
Comment #22 was deleted by its author on 2011-04-13 08:18
23. 2011-04-13 08:14  
Sad but true in US as well. Realized this after being denied with good intention to donate at local Red Cross. Thereafter, a family member needed blood that was not available, rare type with mother and I was the only option. Glad I was able to give so as she can live on.
Believe that Life is not about gender/lifestyle issue. It's a human thing. It gets ugly and thankfully beautiful at times.
24. 2011-04-13 09:42  
25. 2011-04-13 09:57  
it's a strange life, really. I lived thru the start of AIDS way back then, saw many of my friends-and my older brother- get sick and die from this disease, caught alot of SHIT from people who saw it as god's retribution for a deviant lifestyle-stressful to say the LEAST.That was 18 years ago. I saw a van in New York City asking for blood, and I said to myself" why not, cool-give". I went in and there was a huge form to fill out,and asked "have you had same sex relations since 1978?" Obviously. What I had no CLUE about was somewhere along the line there was legislation passed that IF you did that,safe or not, you could not contribute blood in the USA. So now I am an outlaw- I cannot marry,I can't help others even though I am STD free, and no amount of reasoning can change their minds. FUCK them. I cannot reason with IDIOTS.sad.
26. 2011-04-13 11:15  
And they actually pay these people a salary to come up with these ideas?

27. 2011-04-13 11:38  
#26, nicely said! hahahaha

btw, i just need to know, can a man 'who did not have sex with another man for 10 years' be considered a gay man?
:P
28. 2011-04-13 12:18  
In fact the ban on the donation of blood by gay men is a bit hypocritical since the incidence of HIV positivity in straights is getting to approach that of gay men
29. 2011-04-13 13:06  
In Japan the same ban has been introduced on the donation of blood.
It's true big majority of HIV positive is gay men, but not true big majority of gay men is HIV positive.
30. 2011-04-13 13:14  
@14: Simon, if you are as hot as Leeb, or hotter, forget about donating blood, donate your sperm instead :)
31. 2011-04-13 15:24  
i just donated my sperm again, I think I have about 10 kids now, its much more valuable than blood since i am tall, went to Stanford and I am very good at math and engineering
32. 2011-04-13 16:03  
So they have narrowed their target audience to gay 15 year old boy virgins ? Or celibate Catholic priests? They better not put the 2 in the same room or they have lost 2 more customers ;)
33. 2011-04-13 16:46  
#31 you forgot to mention your most obvious quality : humility
34. 2011-04-13 20:32  
I think the true reason behind these bans is they simply don't want to receive blood from gay. Like some Muslims who insist they should never be injected with vaccine derived from pigs!
35. 2011-04-13 22:59  
this news story is sad because it's funny.
36. 2011-04-14 04:07  
give blood, just dont tell them you are gay

37. 2011-04-14 07:31  
Str8 men in UK or elsewhere have sex as much as gay men and why must there be a divide in giving blood to safe lives?
38. 2011-04-14 08:07  
lol kazu I guess you're right (not to mention cheeky) but your comment is SO not the point right here... :-))

Someone earlier on this board asked if anyone knew the real figures of HIV infection among gay as compared to straight and no one answered because no ones knows I guess ?

On this particular issue what strikes me is :
The "competent" authority says their decision is based on statistics.
We feel it's based on prejudice.
The fact is, it's based on hypocrisy.
And that's what hurts.
Comment edited on 2011-04-14 08:13:51
39. 2011-04-14 11:11  
Been Googling up and down but can't find a clear statistical answer to these four (apparently) simple questions :
at the present time.......
- What percentage of gay men are HIV+
- What percentage of straight men are HIV+
- What percentage of gay women are HIV+
- What percentage of straight women are HIV+

Here is a link that sheds an interesting light :
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/09/070913132930.htm

It seems to indicate that gay men are indeed more at risk of becoming infected, NOT BECAUSE THEY HAVE MORE PARTNERS or because they are gay (LOL) or because God's wrath is upon them (...) Not even because they have unprotected sex more often but simply BECAUSE ANAL SEX IS MORE RISKY. On top of that, lubricants seem to make things worse (see former article on the topic here).
Comment edited on 2011-04-14 11:15:16
40. 2011-04-14 22:22  
I have a gay friend who did not have sex for........9 and a half years!!, does he have the right to donate blood in UK....
41. 2011-04-14 22:22  
I have a gay friend who did not have sex for........9 and a half years!!, does he have the right to donate blood in UK....
Comment #42 was deleted by its author on 2011-08-13 17:49
43. 2011-04-18 06:53  
... or from angels. Even better. Plenty of those around.
Comment edited on 2011-04-18 07:15:00
44. 2011-04-21 00:24  
Yet another British balls-up if ever there was one. Utterly and totally discriminatory. So it's OK for a heterosexual to sleep with as many women as he likes and have enough unprotected sex to sink a battleship but a healthy gay man who regularly gets tested and is safe cannot, just because he's gay. Bastards!
45. 2011-04-22 20:50  
the category about gay people and celibacy is so stupid.

more to the point, blood quality is always monitored for a number of diseases/ailments which preclude giving blood. i have had Hepititis A and B so that always excludes me, nothing to do with being Gay.

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