Can gay men donate blood uk
Blood donation: Rule modify means more homosexual and bisexual men can give blood
Blood donation rules for gay and double attraction men are existence relaxed across the UK, in what the government is calling a "landmark change".
The recent criteria focuses on individual behaviours, lifting a blanket bar for any men who have had sex with men in the last three months.
It means men who hold 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.
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 spouse, 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.
The Advisory Committee on the Protection of Blood, Tissues and Organs - which advises UK health departments - recommended the changes after examining the latest evidence relating to blood donation and sexual behaviour.
If donors have had more than one sexual partner or a new companion in the last three months, they can donate
Men who have sex with men (MSM)
On this page:
Can queer men give blood?
Gay and bisexual men are not automatically prevented from giving blood.
Men who contain sex with men and who have had the same spouse for 3 months or more and encounter our other eligibility criteria are capable to give blood.
Anyone who has had anal sex with a new companion or multiple partners in the last three months, regardless of their gender or their partner’s gender, must linger 3 months before donating.
We assess your eligibility to offer blood based solely on your have individual experiences, making the process fairer for everyone.
If you are taking pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) or post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) you will be unable to grant blood. If you stop taking PrEP or PEP, you will need to wait 3 months before you can give blood.
We be grateful that any deferral is disappointing if you want to save lives by giving blood.
If you have previously been unable to donate blood because of the guidelines and would like to donate, please ring us on 0300 123 23 23. One of our team can review the new guidelines with you and, if eligible, guide your next appointment.
Why is there a 3-month wait after sex?
The 3-mon
Changes to blood donation rules explained
Read on for more details about how these changes came about and what they mean in practice.
What process led to these changes?
NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) led a steering group called FAIR (For the Analysis of Individualised Risk). It was set up to consider how risk could be assessed on a more individual basis when people go to donate blood. Public Health England and the University of Nottingham were also committed along with charities from the LGBT+ and HIV sectors, including National AIDS Trust. FAIR made recommendations to SaBTO (Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs) which in turn made recommendations to the Government.
Why do they ask questions about sexual behaviour when someone goes to donate blood?
Blood-borne viruses (BBVs), such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, can be transmitted via donated blood products if present but not identified. The UK today has one of the safest blood supplies in the world. All donated blood in the UK is screened for BBVs. However, all screening tests include what’s called a ‘window period’. This is a period of time after someone acquires a BBV where the test won̵
Donation if you are LGBT+
You can donate all forms of donation regardless of gender, NHS Blood and Transplant considers all donors to be the sex and/or gender that they identify as, including nonbinary, genderfluid and agender donors. We’ll use the pronouns of every donors decision as well as our people sharing theirs.
Blood, plasma and platelet donation if you are transgender
As part of our continuous steer to be inclusive and make sure our donors and patients receive the best care possible, we have made some changes to how we document your sex assigned at birth and gender.
From July 2024, we will ask all donors their sex assigned at birth, as well as their gender when signing up to donate. This will be asked only once, at registration, and then recorded confidentially – this will allow us to know what blood products are safe to manufacture from your donation (as this can differ based on the chance of a previous pregnancy) as well as allowing us to treat donors more respectfully on session.
We also want to form sure your donation is safe for patients and that you are not at risk of harming yourself by donating too often.
The JPAC guidelines give more data about donation
Landmark change to blood donation criteria
- New criteria focuses on individual behaviours, and lifts a blanket deferral for men who have had sex with men in the last 3 months
- Policy is based on findings from the ‘FAIR’ report
- Changes will hold no impact on the safety of blood donated in the UK
Men who have sex with men in a long-term partnership will be able to donate blood in England following changes to blood donation criteria announced by Health and Social Look after Secretary Matt Hancock today. The move, which will also be implemented in each of the devolved administrations, sees the UK become one of the first countries in the world to adopt a more individualised risk-based approach to donor selection criteria.
Following recommendations from the Advisory Committee for the Protection of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), donors who have had one sexual partner and who contain been with their sexual partner for more than 3 months, will be eligible to donate regardless of their gender, the gender of their spouse, or the type of sex they have.
The ‘For Assessment of Individualised Risk’ (FAIR) steering group, a collaboration of UK blood services and LGBT charities led by NHSBT and