The rules around blood donation in the UK have been relaxed
The discussions about making it more difficult for gay men to donate blood in many countries are not abating. Now - once again - something seems to be happening. In the UK, the rules have been relaxed a little in this regard.
Even if it is certainly not yet possible to speak of complete equality here, the procedure shows that the efforts of the last few months have been worthwhile.
But what does this actually mean exactly? Can any gay man in the UK really donate blood? No. And yet many members of the community speak of progress.
Gay men in the UK are allowed to donate blood, but...
In this context, some restrictions must be observed. In plain language, this means that gay or bisexual men who have only had sex with a single partner in the last three months, for example because they live in a committed partnership, may donate blood.
In contrast to the previous regulations, this is a clear step forward! Because: Before, all men who had sex with men before donating blood were excluded per se - regardless of how monogamous they may have lived.
However, one aspect that is already drawing criticism from the community here is the fact that gay and bisexual men are "interviewed" prior to donation.
Among other things, they are asked questions about their sex life. In addition, more general topics relating to health and the like are also discussed.
Depending on the individual responses, the risk of infection is then assessed in a second step. Many critics see precisely this as an encroachment on the personal rights of the donors. Because: strictly speaking, the survey means that gay men are more likely to be placed under suspicion of living "tothe hilt", although there are of course also many heterosexual blood donors who live anything but chaste lives and whose risk of becoming infected with HIV is also high in many cases.
Many gay men would like to donate blood but are not allowed to
And this is precisely the irony of the matter. Because: numerous doctors and organizations repeatedly emphasize how important it is to get as many people as possible to donate blood. Among other things, the willingness to donate also dropped significantly during the Corona pandemic. Especially at the beginning of the first lockdown, many people were afraid of catching the disease and left their homes as rarely as possible.
Because of the prevailing shortage and the willingness of many gay and bisexual men to donate, the legislative changes - while certainly in need of improvement - are welcomed by many.
With the change in the law, Great Britain has taken a step in the right direction - just in time for Pride Month, by the way. There are still many countries that are clearly lagging behind here. But who knows? Maybe the procedure will be a little like "marriage for all"? The motto is: the more countries that decide to change the status quo, the higher the probability that the international system will also be revolutionized.
Will the changes in the law in the UK lead to more donations?
The likelihood that every gay man in the UK who is in a monogamous relationship or single will now set out to donate blood is low. Especially since there are also likely to be many willing donors who might feel stampeded as a result of the aforementioned survey.
However, it is also certain that the change in the law has been welcomed in the social networks - including within the community - and that there are already many men who declare that they want to donate soon.
However, it remains to be seen whether the innovations will be followed by a veritable wave of blood donations. Of course, it will also be exciting to see which countries will follow suit in the near future.
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