The policy change, planned for 2021, will allow gay and bisexual men in long-term relationships to donate blood.
Gay and bisexual men will find it easier to donate blood from next summer following a historic policy change, the NHS Blood Service announced. This decision was welcomed by activists fighting to break the rules that they said represented inequalities.
Men with a long-term relationship with another man can donate blood next summer, according to the NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). Currently, the rules state that all men who have had sex with men cannot donate blood for three months.
The change in policy means that risk assessments for donors will be conducted on an individual rather than a demographic basis. This means anyone who has had the same sexual partner for more than three months can donate if they have no known exposure to a sexually transmitted infection and they are not using HIV-PreP drugs or PEP, the NHSBT said.
The health surveillance questionnaire will include new behavioral indicators to evaluate potential donors, including whether a donor is at high risk of sexual behavior, for example to have several partners or to participate in having sex under the influence of stimulants.
Tell us your thoughts in the Facebook post and share this with your friends.