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England will allow blood donations to gay men who have refused sex for a year
Last reviewed: 30.06.2025
The UK government will allow gay men who have abstained from same-sex contact for a year to donate blood. According to the BBC, the new rules for donating blood will come into force on November 7, 2011 in England, Scotland and Wales.
A lifelong ban on homosexuals from donating blood was introduced in the UK in the early 1980s. The measure was taken in response to the threat of the spread of HIV infection and the lack of reliable methods for its diagnosis.
However, in April 2011, the British authorities questioned these rules on both ethical and medical grounds. In response, the UK Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs approved new rules for the quality control of blood products.
Committee representative Deirdre Kelly noted that improved blood product control methods have significantly reduced the number of errors in testing and shortened the period when HIV cannot be detected in blood. According to her, new diagnostic methods make it possible to determine the presence of the immunodeficiency virus no later than 12 months after infection, so a lifelong ban on donation is not necessary.
Initially, British authorities planned to allow gays to donate blood only after ten years of abstinence from same-sex contact.
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