Campaigners ll for chang to Ireland's rtrictn of blood donatn by gay men • GCN

Contents:

• NEW CRERIA FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE BLOOD EFFECT
• IRELAND TO EASE RTRICTNS ON BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY, BISEXUAL MEN
• CHANG TO BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN IRELAND WELED BY MPAIGNERSTHE CHANG E FOLLOWG A REPORT OM AN PENNT ADVISORY GROUPIRISHMIRRORBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYDOMIC MCGRATH15:37, 22 DEC 2021BOOKMARKPERSON GIVG BLOOD (IMAGE: GETTY)GET DAILY HEADL AND BREAKG NEWS ALERTS FOR FREE BY SIGNG UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET DAILY HEADL AND BREAKG NEWS ALERTS FOR FREE BY SIGNG UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!
• RUL ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY PEOPLE
• WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?
• CAMPAIGNERS LL FOR CHANG TO IRELAND'S RTRICTN OF BLOOD DONATN BY GAY MEN
• HISTORIC 'FIRST DONATN' SCE RELAXATN OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S NTROVERSIAL GAY BLOOD RTRICTNS

NEW CRERIA FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN TO DONATE BLOOD EFFECT

New blood donatn chang e to effect today allowg gay and bisexual men who have sex wh men to donate at an earlier stage. HIV Ireland exprsed disappotment that the IBTS cid not to implement a remendatn to remove oral sex as a reason for ferrg gay and bisexual men, as agreed by an expert review group. Ireland's rtrictns on blood donatn by gay and bisexual men to be eased om next year.

THE IRISH BLOOD Transfn Service (IBTS) is set to rce the time that gay and bisexual men have to wa to give blood after havg sexual ntact wh other men. The Health Mister has nfirmed that l on blood donatn for gay and bisexual men are set to change.

IRELAND TO EASE RTRICTNS ON BLOOD DONATNS OM GAY, BISEXUAL MEN

Sir, – Wednday was World Aids day, 40 years after the HIV vis was first disvered as the etlogic e of Ireland, the lifelong ban on gay, bisexual and men who have sex wh men givg blood (a ban which was first troduced untri after 1981) was lifted 2017. In effect, this meant that gay, bisexual and men who have sex wh men uld qualify as blood donors – but only after abstag om any sexual ntact for one year.

The same creria do not apply to heterosexual the UK June of this year, a new policy was implemented allowg gay, bisexual and men who have sex wh men to give blood – whout any perd of abstag. It also, prumably, me om Brish men who were able to give blood unrtrictedly bee of the change the a gay cizen of this untry, I believe the current approach to blood donatn prejudicial, that an evince-based, dividualised asssment of sexual behavural patterns replace what is an outmod groupg together of muni based upon the prumptn of sexual the very real possibily of further blood shortag both now and the future, I ll upon the Government to reasss the current abstentn clse immediately. CHANGES TO BLOOD donatn l the North now mean that gay and bisexual men n donate blood so long as they have been a same-sex relatnship wh one partner for more than three months.

SDLP Health Spokperson Cara Hunter has enuraged gay and bisexual men who are eligible to nsir donatg blood. Fianna Fáil senator Fna O’Loughl said the review will look at the impact of liftg the life ban on blood donatn by gay and bisexual men.

CHANG TO BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN IRELAND WELED BY MPAIGNERSTHE CHANG E FOLLOWG A REPORT OM AN PENNT ADVISORY GROUPIRISHMIRRORBOOKMARKSHARECOMMENTSNEWSBYDOMIC MCGRATH15:37, 22 DEC 2021BOOKMARKPERSON GIVG BLOOD (IMAGE: GETTY)GET DAILY HEADL AND BREAKG NEWS ALERTS FOR FREE BY SIGNG UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERMORE NEWSLETTERS SUBSCRIBEINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.MORE NEWSLETTERSWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!WE HAVE MORE NEWSLETTERSSHOW ME SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE SEE OURPRIVACY NOTICE&TIM;GROUP 28 GET DAILY HEADL AND BREAKG NEWS ALERTS FOR FREE BY SIGNG UP TO OUR NEWSLETTERINVALID EMAILSOMETHG WENT WRONG, PLEASE TRY AGA LATER.SIGN UPNO THANKS, CLOSEWE E YOUR SIGN-UP TO PROVI NTENT WAYS YOU’VE NSENTED TO AND IMPROVE OUR UNRSTANDG OF YOU. THIS MAY CLU ADVERTS OM AND THIRD PARTI BASED ON OUR KNOWLEDGE OF YOU. MORE &TIM;GROUP 28THANK YOU FOR SUBSCRIBG!

Prr to the chang, there was a lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donatg blood.

RUL ON BLOOD DONATN FOR GAY PEOPLE

“Currently gay and bisexual men n only donate blood  Ireland if they have reaed om sexual activy for 12 months, creria that do not need to be met by heterosexual men. In January 2017, the Irish Blood Transfn Service (IBTS) updated the donor ferral creria for gay and bisexual men donatg blood, changg om a life-long ferral ( place sce the emergence of HIV the 1980’s) to a one-year ferral. Currently Ireland, gay, bisexual and men who have sex wh men (gbMSM) mt absta om any sexual ntact (regardls of the e of ndoms and/or PrEP) for a mimum of 12 months before meetg the creria for donatg blood.

In the n-up to the General Electn 2020, HIV Ireland published a HIV Manifto llg on the next Government to “End the discrimatory 12-month ferral perd on blood donatns for gay, bisexual and men who have sex wh men. (This May 11 story rrects date and time reference for France fal par)LONDON (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - Countri around the world are reviewg rtrictns on blood donatns by gay and bisexual men imposed durg the 1980s HIV/AIDS crisis, wh some removg blanket bans and others rcg wag perds after gay ’s Supreme Court led on Friday that a 12-month ferral perd for gay and bi men to give blood was unnstutnal, a policy LGBT+ mpaigners had long argued was discrimatory given morn blood-screeng now, Brazil’s ernment will have to treat gay and bisexual men the same as heterosexual men when donatg blood. It uld wre a new law that restat the ban, but s posn is not yet blood suppli have e unr prsure due to the ronavis panmic, lls have grown for ernments to replace abstence perds for men who have sex wh men to donate blood wh dividual risk-based month, the Uned Stat and Northern Ireland cut their abstence perds, while Atralia said plans to do are the l erng blood donatn by gay and bi men around the world:- Countri that impose lifelong bans on gay and bisexual men donatg blood clu Croatia, Iceland, Malaysia, Slovenia, Sgapore, Tridad and Tobago and Ukrae- At least 17 untri now have no rtrictns, cludg Argenta, Italy, Rsia, South Ai, Spa and, as of January this year, Hungary- In April 2020, the Uned Stat cut s celibacy perd om 12 months to three months amid a blood shortage- Last month, Northern Ireland also rced s ferral perd om one year to three months, brgg to le wh regulatns the rt of the Uned Kgdom- Some untri differentiate between blood products and blood general, but Bra men who have had sex wh another man the last three months and revered om Covid-19 nnot donate their plasma to a ronavis treatment trial- Most untri do not mentn whether takg Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), a HIV-preventn dg, affects gay and bi men’s abily to donate blood.

Bra says s three-month abstence perd appli regardls of whether someone tak PrEP or not- When Atralia announced s tentn to cut the abstence perd om 12 months to three April, said people takg PrEP would still have a 12-month abstence perd- Atria lifted a blanket ban on men who have sex wh men givg blood, replacg wh a 12-month abstence perd for gay and bi men December 2019- In March, Denmark lifted s lifelong ban, implementg a prevly announced wag perd of four months- France has had a wag perd of 12 months sce 2016, when lifted a ban on gay and bisexual men givg blood that had been place sce 1983Sourc: Thomson Rters Foundatn rearch, RtersReportg by Rachel Savage @rachelmsavage and Elsa Ohlen; Addnal reportg by Fab Teixeira; Edg by Helen Popper and Hugo Greenhalgh. S., the Red Cross, along wh One Blood, Valant and partner LGBTQ+ muny health centers, are participatg a pilot study fund by the FDA select ci that uld potentially lead to chang for blood donor eligibily creria for gay and bisexual men.

WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?

Tradnally, this has disproportnately impacted gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men (gbMSM) as well as trans people. © 2022 GCN (Gay Communy News).

Campaigners ll for chang to Ireland's rtrictn of blood donatn by gay men. CAMPAIGNERS HAVE THIS week cricised the need to import blood om Bra whout addrsg rtrictns on Irish gay and bisexual men om donatg blood. A mpaigner and two groups reprentg gay men and men who have sex wh men have cricised the importatn.

They said that while gay men n donate blood the UK, the IBTS has certa rtrictns.

CAMPAIGNERS LL FOR CHANG TO IRELAND'S RTRICTN OF BLOOD DONATN BY GAY MEN

Tomás Heneghan has mpaigned agast rtrictn on Irish gay men donatg blood. I thk is very likely to be blood om gay men.

HISTORIC 'FIRST DONATN' SCE RELAXATN OF NORTHERN IRELAND'S NTROVERSIAL GAY BLOOD RTRICTNS

Bill Foley, the secretary of the Gay Health Network, supported Tomás’ view that risk aversn was a e of the IBTS stance. Campaigners have once aga lled for chang to be ma to Ireland’s rtrictive blood donatn l surroundg gay and bi men, and men who have sex wh men.