“This change is about switching around how we assess the risk of exposure to a sexual infection, so it is more tailored to the individual.
Lockdown proved there’s a cure for homelessness - why can’t it work all the time?.Instead, any individual who attends to give blood regardless of gender will be asked if they have had sex and, if so, about recent sexual behaviours, NHS Blood and Transplant said.Įlla Poppitt, chief nurse for blood donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. The new eligibility rules came into effect on World Blood Donor Day (June 14) and mean that donors in England, Scotland and Wales will no longer be asked if they are a man who has had sex with another man. In particular there is a need for more donors with O negative blood - the universal type and one of the rarest blood types, B negative. The changes come about as blood donors in Manchester are urged to make and keep appointments to donate over summer, as demand creeps back to normal capacity. A new rule change will allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood, platelets and plasma.Īnyone who has had the same sexual partner for the last three months will be eligible to donate, NHS Blood and Transplant said.
