Cant donate blood if gay
Australian Red Cross Lifeblood loosens rules around LGBTQIA+ donating blood and plasma
Restrictions around sexually active gay and bisexual men donating blood and plasma are entity loosened in a modern world-leading move by Australian Red Cross Lifeblood.
Under current rules, gay and multi-attracted men, and transgender women who have sex with men, cannot donate blood or plasma if they have had sex in the past three months.
But from July 14, in the first set of rule changes, Lifeblood will remove most restrictions on donating plasma related to sexual activity.
It has called this world-first the "plasma pathway", and says it will mean "most people, including gay and bisexual person men, and anyone who takes PrEP, will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria".
Loading...PrEP stands for pre-exposure prophylaxis and involves HIV-negative people taking antiretroviral medication to shield them and prevent infection.
"Extensive research and modelling display that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change," Lifeblood said in a statement.
Lifeblood chief medical officer Jo Pink s
Men who have sex with men (MSM)
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Can queer men give blood?
Gay and bisexual men are not automatically prevented from giving blood.
Men who include sex with men and who have had the same loved one for 3 months or more and get together our other eligibility criteria are fit to give blood.
Anyone who has had anal sex with a new boyfriend or multiple partners in the last three months, regardless of their gender or their partner’s gender, must stay 3 months before donating.
We assess your eligibility to donate blood based solely on your control 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 donate 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 phone us on 0300 123 23 23. One of our team can review the new guidelines with you and, if eligible, manual your next appointment.
Why is there a 3-month wait after sex?
The 3-mon
How new FDA control allowing gay, bisexual person men to provide blood is making donation more inclusive
For at least a decade, Chris Van Bibber had been prevented from donating blood.
The 35-year-old from Salt Lake City, Utah -- who is openly gay -- was restricted due to rules set in place by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that did not allow sexually active gay men from donating.
However, this past May, the FDA dropped all restrictions specific to queer and bisexual men donating blood, moving to a novel blood donation peril assessment tool that is the equal for every donor regardless of how they identify, which rolled out in August.
This meant that Van Bibber was able to produce history as he donated blood at the American Red Cross Blood Donation Center in his home city.
"To position back in that chair and to go through the questionnaire beforehand, and it was just -- I felt so much excitement and so much relief that we were finally here," Van Bibber told ABC News. "I just felt appreciate I was finally able to execute my part and it's a tiny thing to perform that can create such a vast difference."
The new policy is one that public health experts and gay rights activists said
Blood Donations
In January 2023, the Biden administration and the U.S. Meal and Drug Administration (FDA) took a significant step toward dismantling antiquated and discriminatory policy preventing same-sex attracted and bisexual men from donating blood.
The new policy moves away from discriminatory policy based on self and toward a science-based, individualized risk assessment approach.
Click here to learn more about the progress made in Blood Donation policies and follow HRC’s actions to drive change.
Top Ten Questions on Updated FDA Blood Donation Guidance
The updated guidance abandons the discriminatory deferral policy based on one’s identity within a group (i.e., gay, and bisexual men, and alike gender loving men).
The updated guidance now requires all persons to be evaluated based on an individual donor assessment. All prospective donors will be asked the same questions, and if deemed eligible, can donate blood.
Prospective donors will not be asked if they are monogamous, or in a monogamous relationship.
Under the new guidance, all prospective donors will be asked the same arrange of questions about unused or multiple sexual partners.
Those who do not
Blood Donation by Gay and Bisexual Men
Blood donors give a gift for which there is no substitute. At AABB, we believe that the ability to save lives through donation of safe blood products should be uncover to as many people as possible, irrespective of their sexual orientation or gender identity. That’s why AABB has led actions to make blood donation inclusive of non-binary donors and championed the adoption of equitable, science-based individual donor assessment (IDA) processes to determine blood donor eligibility that welcome Homosexual blood donors, strengthen the blood supply and store lives.
FDA Approves Historic Spread of Donor Eligibility
On May 11, 2023, the Meal and Drug Administration issued a final guidance eliminating time-based blood donor deferral periods for gay, bisexual person and other men who have sex with men (MSM) and women who have sex with MSM. The agency now recommends a new donor assessing process that uses individual donor assessment - a donor screening process that uses gender-inclusive, individual donor-based questions for all individuals - to establish eligibility.
AABB is committed to helping the blood community execute the recommendations as posthaste as