UK to lift lifetime blood donor ban for gay men

[News_Editor]

UK to lift lifetime blood donor ban for gay men

2011-09-09 03:53:21 GMT+7 (ICT)

LONDON (BNO NEWS) -- The lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will soon be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales, the British government announced on Thursday.

The decision to lift the lifetime ban, which was put in place in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination, follows a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) of the Department of Health.

The SaBTO's recommendations have been accepted by health ministers in England, Scotland and Wales and will be implemented on November 7. However, men who have had anal or oral sex with another man in the past 12 months, with or without condom, will still not be eligible to donate blood.

"Blood donations are a lifeline, and many of us would not have loved ones with us today if it was not for the selfless act of others," Public Health Minister Anne Milton said. "Our blood service is carefully managed to maintain a safe and sufficient supply of blood for transfusions. Appropriate checks based on robust science must be in place to maintain this safety record and the Committee's recommendation reflects this. It is important that people comply with all donor selection criteria, which are in place to protect the health of both donors and transfusion recipients."

Lorna Williamson, the NHS Blood and Transplant's Medical and Research director, said she welcomes the conclusions of the review. "It gives us an opportunity to broaden our donor acceptance on the basis of the latest scientific evidence," Williamson said. "It is essential that our donor selection rules are based on good evidence to maintain their credibility with donors, and this change gives us an updated policy that is proportionate to the current risk."

Williamson noted that the SaBTO review concluded that the safety of the blood supply would not be affected by the change. "There has been no documented transmission of a blood-borne virus in the UK since 2005, with no HIV transmission since 2002," she added.

The lifetime ban was introduced in the early 1980s in response to the aids epidemic and a lack of adequate HIV tests. "We can now detect blood-borne viruses earlier and have more understanding of them, and the change reflects that," said Nick Partridge, Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust (THT)."

Partridge said the remaining regulation, which allows no blood donor to have sex with other men in the past 12 months, is based on their heightened risk of sexually acquired blood-borne viruses. "Changing that depends on reducing gay men's risk of HIV and other [sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)] to the same level as the rest of the population, and re-emphasizing the vital importance of safer sex as far too many gay men still become infected with HIV each year," he added.

Northern Ireland has not yet made a decision on the conclusions of the review.

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