Survey ban on blood donation for gays in Germany published
This is one of those discussions that - not only in Germany - have been particularly lively for months. With regard to the question "Should gay men be allowed to donate blood?", there seems to be no real agreement. While some are of the opinion that precisely this should no longer be a problem, others keep emphasizing that the risk of infection with regard to HIV is far too high here.
According to a large part of the community, this is a classic form of discrimination. Among other things, because it is assumed that gay men would have a more debauched sex life than heterosexuals.
However, a recent survey shows that the blood donation ban is not an "old law" that "will have to be revised at some point", but that it is actually about prejudices that exist in people's minds.
More than half of Germans would like to keep blood donation ban for gays
Exactly 52 percent of respondents would like men who are sexually active and have sex with other men to be excluded from donating blood. The result of this survey was published by the market research tool Appinio. A total of 1,000 people took part in the survey.
The current situation in Germany is still reminiscent of a time when gays were seen as the carriers of dangerous diseases. This is because anyone who is gay and wants to donate blood must not have had sex in the previous four months.
Interestingly, there are no such restrictions for heterosexual men. And this is exactly where many people see a special kind of discrimination. Because: Of course, a heterosexual man can also have sex with several women and thus become infected with HIV.
Various organizations call for a rethink
Many activists and organizations from the scene have long wished for further differentiation with regard to blood donations and the discussions associated with them. They don't mind that sexual behavior should play a role in this case... But: They demand that exactly this is questioned for queers as well as straight men, instead of assuming that it is exclusively gay or bisexual men who face a high risk of infection.
What is particularly pleasing, however, is the fact that many countries have already managed to change the law. Among others, gay men in Italy and Spain are allowed to donate blood just like their heterosexual "colleagues".
There is also good news!
The survey in not only related to people's attitudes toward donating blood, but went a few steps further. Among other things, those responsible had set themselves the goal of finding out how open Germans are with regard to more equal rights. Here the corresponding result already looks far more tolerant. More than 80 percent were in favor of marriage for all.
More than 70 percent of respondents also said they would have no problem if their child came out. Excitingly, however, even slightly fewer parents seem to be skeptical if their offspring were bi.
Either way, the results of the current survey show that many people would like to see more equality in everyday life. Nevertheless: The results also underline that there are still many walls in people's minds.