Men who have sex with men blood donor controversy in the United Kingdom

The MSM blood donor controversy in the United Kingdom refers to the deferral policy of men who have had sex with men (MSM) in the United Kingdom who wish to donate their blood to UK blood donation services (NHS Blood and Transplant in England, the Welsh Blood Service in Wales, Scotblood in Scotland and the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service in Northern Ireland). As of 2020, the deferral period is three months in all four home nations.

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A Donation Not Discrimination protester at the University of Nottingham.

The UK blood donation services argue that this policy is necessary in order to protect public health and minimise the spread of blood-borne sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as HIV. The policy has been adopted based on the scientific advice of the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs and has been kept under regular review. However, the policy has been criticised as being discriminatory towards gay men, and the deferral is opposed by groups such as the LGBT campaign of the NUS and Stonewall.

History
Blood donation policies for men who have sex with men
  Men who have sex with men may donate blood; No deferral
  Men who have sex with men may donate blood; Temporary deferral
  Men who have sex with men may not donate blood; Permanent deferral1
  No Data
1No restriction in Israel and the United States if last MSM activity was before 1977.

1980 lifetime ban

In 1980, MSM were placed under a lifetime ban in terms of blood donation due to the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.

2011 one-year deferral

In September 2011 this lifetime ban was lifted in all parts of the UK (excluding Northern Ireland until September 2016),[1] and a 1-year ban was put in place for MSM who are sexually active, regardless of whether safe sex practises were undertaken.[2][3]

The gay rights group Stonewall said the move was a "step in the right direction".[4] However, a spokesperson pointed to the fact that high-risk heterosexuals would still be less controlled than low-risk gay men: "A gay man in a monogamous relationship who has only had oral sex will still automatically be unable to give blood but a heterosexual man who has had multiple partners and not worn a condom will not be questioned about his behaviour, or even then, excluded."[4] The Independent reported that Andy Wasley, editor in chief of So So Gay magazine, called for "more precise selection criteria" to be used in identifying high-risk potential donors.[5]

It was not clear how much the total amount of blood donated would change following this change, Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of the Terrence Higgins Trust, is quoted as saying it is impossible to say how many men would actually be able to start donating blood, as "the vast majority of gay men are still (sexually) active".[4]

Political opposition to deferral

In 2015, the Green Party of England and Wales claimed that they would "push for consultation on reducing the 12-month blood donation deferral period for men who have sex with men, based on individual risk assessment where the donor is identified to be not at risk of passing infections into the blood supply" in their General Election Manifesto and LGBTIQ Manifesto.[6][7]

In 2015, Welsh writer and poet RJ Arkhipov exhibited a poetry series written with his own blood as ink in protest of the MSM blood donor restrictions.[8][9][10]

The Liberal Democrats' first opposition day motion in the 2015 Parliament called for the government to end the 'gay blood ban'.[11]

Current policy

In November 2017, a new blood donation policy within Scotland, England and Wales was enacted. Men who have sex with men can now give blood three months after their last sexual activity, instead of 12. Experts said the move would give more people the opportunity to donate blood without affecting blood supply safety. The UK Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs – which advises UK health departments – recommended the changes after concluding that new testing systems were accurate and donors were good at complying with the rules.[12]

The change came after a two year campaign from FreedomToDonate, a group of four volunteers who ran the campaign in their spare time. Ethan Spibey, Andy Clarke, Joe Allen and Dan Costen were credited with the Government agreeing to there being a review.

Following the restoration of devolution in Northern Ireland in January 2020, the deferral period there was reduced to 3 months, in effect since 1 June 2020.[13]

Criticism

Following the change in deferral period to three months, Stonewall released a statement stating "while a shortened deferral period is an important move, the reality is that most gay and bi men will still be excluded from donating blood."[14] Gay rights groups called for a move to an individualised risk assessment, which takes into account the risk associated with sexual behaviour, regardless of the gender or sex of their partner. This would follow a similar model to Italy, which saw no increase in risk of HIV infection following the change in 2011.[15]

In 2019, the UK blood donation services set up the FAIR steering group to explore possibilities of individualised risk assessment with regards to sexual behaviours and risk, in conjunction with Public Health England, Stonewall, the Terrence Higgins Trust and other groups. It is due to provide a report before the end of 2020.[16]

MSM blood donor policies by country
CountryDeferral for MSMRef(s)
England 3 months [12]
Scotland 3 months [12]
Wales 3 months [12]
Northern Ireland 3 months [1][17]

See also

References
  1. "Northern Ireland to lift gay blood donor ban from September". gaynewsnetwork.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-12-20.
  2. Prendergast, Padraig (14 June 2016). "Government to review 12-month deferral period for gay men donating blood". Newsbeat. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. "Donor selection criteria review". Department of Health. Retrieved 2011-09-08.
  4. Gallagher, James (2011-09-08). "BBC News – Gay men blood donor ban to be lifted". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  5. "Lifetime ban on gay men donating blood is lifted – Health News, Health & Families". The Independent. 2011-09-09. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  6. "EQUALITY FOR ALL: LGBTIQ GENERAL ELECTION MANIFESTO 2015" (PDF). Green Party of England and Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  7. "FOR THE COMMON GOOD: GENERAL ELECTION MANIFESTO 2015" (PDF). Green Party of England and Wales. Retrieved 10 May 2015.
  8. "Welsh Poet RJ Arkhipov Works With His Own Blood to Protest Ban On Gay Donors". www.out.com. 2015-09-25. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  9. "Gay Welsh poet tackles the stigma of 'gay blood' on World Blood Donor Day". Attitude.co.uk. 2017-06-16. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  10. "This man is writing poetry in his own blood to protest gay blood donations rules". PinkNews - Gay news, reviews and comment from the world's most read lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans news service. 2017-06-23. Retrieved 2020-01-30.
  11. "Interview: Tim Farron addresses LGBT voting record and calls for Church of England to be disestablished". May 20, 2015.
  12. Greenfield, Patrick (July 23, 2017). "Gay men to be allowed to give blood three months after sex". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
  13. "Same-sex blood donation rules relaxed". BBC News. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-04-29.
  14. "Blood donation: a step forward". Stonewall (in Welsh). 2017-07-21. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  15. Suligoi, Barbara; Pupella, Simonetta; Regine, Vincenza; Raimondo, Mariangela; Velati, Claudio; Grazzini, Giuliano (July 2013). "Changing blood donor screening criteria from permanent deferral for men who have sex with men to individual sexual risk assessment: no evidence of a significant impact on the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic in Italy". Blood Transfusion. 11 (3): 441–448. doi:10.2450/2013.0162-12. ISSN 1723-2007. PMC 3729137. PMID 23867178.
  16. "FAIR steering group". NHS Blood Donation. Retrieved 2020-05-18.
  17. "NI's 'gay blood' ban to be lifted". BBC News. June 2, 2016 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
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