UK Lifts Year-Long Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood

Men who have sex with men in UK's England, Scotland and Wales can now donate blood without previously having to abstain from sex for a year. The legislation, which was first announced in July, goes into effect today.

NewNowNext reports that new regulations now only require a three-month abstinence period before gay and bisexual men can make a blood donation.

The policy change was announced back in July. The UK's longstanding ban implemented during the AIDS crisis in 1981 was initially amended to a 12-month abstinence policy for MSM in 2011. The Independent reported that the new guidelines are aligned with improved NHS testing measures, which can establish whether someone has a blood infection like HIV, hepatitis B, hepatitis C or syphilis, within three months.

LGBT activists have hailed the policy as a step toward a more equal system, but are fighting to remove the blanket deferral on gay men altogether. Some, like Scott Cuthbertson of Scotland's Equality Network told the BBC that, "These new rules are a welcome and significant step forward," but are still concerned that men in low-risk categories, such as those in monogamous relationships, will still not be allowed to donate. He and other LGBT activists ultimately want to the blanket policy replaced with individualized risk assessments, as is the policy in Argentina, Spain, Portugal, and South Africa.

And Stewart McDonald MP, who co-chairs the all-party parliamentary group on blood donation that led on the Parliamentary Inquiry said: "I am delighted at this monumental change in blood donation policy, which will ensure more people than ever before can donate blood and increase blood stock whilst always maintaining its safety and integrity."

The U.S. dropped its lifetime ban in favor of a year of abstinence in 2015. Last year, the FDA said it was reconsidering its policy and requested public comment period on the matter, which they are still reviewing.