For the first time after several years, healthy people of any sexual orientation or gender who have had the same sexual partner for a period of three months are eligible to donate plasma, blood and platelets in most of the United Kingdom as of Monday, June 14th, under the new guidelines issued by National Health Service.
This marks a significant change for people who identify as male and have male-identifying sexual partners, who in many countries, including the United States, are barred from or subject to strict rules on giving blood, in what critics say are policies that discriminate against LGBTQ people.
“The changes mean that a donor’s eligibility to donate will be based on a more individualised assessment rather than on a risk assigned to a group or population, marking a historic move to make blood donation more inclusive without affecting safety,” the NHS wrote last month on its website.
