Gay, bisexual men n give blood for the first time after the FDA eased s donatn polici. Here’s how they feel.

Contents:

• BLOOD DONATN: RULE CHANGE MEANS MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN N GIVE BLOOD
• GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL
• BLOOD DONOR L TO BE RELAXED FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ENGLAND
• THE UK WILL LET SOME SEXUALLY ACTIVE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN GIVE BLOOD, ENDG A NTROVERSIAL BAN
• GAY BLOOD DONOR L 'IRRELEVANT', SAYS MPAIGNER
• GAY BLOOD LEGAL BATTLE NOW 'AMIC'
• RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• GAY MEN BLOOD DONOR BAN TO BE LIFTED
• BAN ON GAY MEN GIVG BLOOD TO BE LIFTED
• SENR CONSERVATIV BACK LIFTG U.K. GAY BLOOD DONATN BAN
• GAY, BISEXUAL MEN N GIVE BLOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER THE FDA EASED S DONATN POLICI. HERE’S HOW THEY FEEL.
• SHOULD ATRALIA END RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN DONATG BLOOD?
• I'M A GAY MAN AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD DUE TO THE FDA BAN. I WAS PART OF THE RED CROSS STUDY THAT WILL HELP OVERTURN THAT.
• HOW FDA'S FORTHG BLOOD DONOR POLICY CHANGE ULD HELP ADDRS STIGMA ABOUT GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• GAY BLOOD DONORS NIED UNR 1980S POLICY THAT HAS BEEN SLOW TO CHANGE
• GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE
• GAY MAN LLS OUT ‘HOMOPHOBIC’ BLOOD BAN PASSNATE VIO: ‘LET ME NOT MIX UP MY WORDS’
• MP ERIC DUNN ENURAGED BY END OF GAY BLOOD BAN UK AS HE ADVOT FOR SAME CANADA

BLOOD DONATN: RULE CHANGE MEANS MORE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN N GIVE BLOOD

"'More work to do'Campaigners have weled the relaxatn of of the sexually active men claimed the three-month le for all men who have sex wh men was "rooted ep homophobia" Spibey, founr of FreedomToDonate, said his group has been mpaigng for the rtrictns to be updated for more than six years and they "warmly wele" this announcement. Gay and bisexual men England, Stland, and Wal n now donate blood, plasma and platelets unr certa circumstanc whout havg to wa three months, the Natnal Health Service announced this week.

GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ARE NOW ALLOWED TO DONATE BLOOD IN ENGLAND, STLAND AND WAL

Gay and bisexual men England, Stland, and Wal n now donate blood, plasma and platelets unr certa circumstanc, the Natnal Health Service announced this week a momento shift policy for most of the U.

He said “The UK is leadg the way ensurg that blood donatn is more clive and now will allow many more gay, bisexual and other men who have sex wh men to donate blood. The UK will allow some sexually active gay and bisexual men to donate blood, overturng a ban that origated durg the HIV/AIDS epimic of the 1980s and has been cried as homophobic for years.

BLOOD DONOR L TO BE RELAXED FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN ENGLAND

Rul preventg gay and bisexual men om blood donatn were implemented many untri the wake of the AIDS crisis, wh health agenci argug that they were more likely than other people to acquire fectns through sex.

THE UK WILL LET SOME SEXUALLY ACTIVE GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN GIVE BLOOD, ENDG A NTROVERSIAL BAN

But LGBTQ mpaigners and other groups have opposed the bans, warng that they perpetuate stereotyp about gay and bisexual men and ntendg that wh morn screeng methods, the risk of missg an fectn is small. “This change will help ensure more gay and bi men n donate blood, and reprents an important first step towards a donatn selectn policy entirely based on an dividualised asssment of risk, ” Nancy Kelley, chief executive of the LGBTQ rights group Stonewall, said a statement. “While we wele today’s news, we know much more still needs to be done to tackle the challeng that lead to gay and bi men, along wh other groups of people cludg black Ain muni, sex workers, and trans muni, beg at higher risk of acquirg HIV and other STIs, ” she add.

“Such a ntrast to the attu I met mpaigng at the Department of Health many years back when someone said ‘gays n’t be tsted to tell the tth about their sex liv, ’” Michael Fabrint, a lawmaker wh the erng Conservative party, tweeted.

GAY BLOOD DONOR L 'IRRELEVANT', SAYS MPAIGNER

A blanket ban on donatns om sexually active gay men was troduced l were relaxed 2011 to allow donatns after 12 months of sexual 2017 the abstence perd was shortened to three months but Mr Boulton, who ed to donate regularly, says that still prevents val source, Getty ImagImage ptn, There are rtrictns on gay men who want to donate blood"When you hear they're puttg out a ll to arms for people to give blood, particularly men, and you know that a signifint mory of the populatn are exclud, I jt thk 's a wasted rource, " he said. Image source, SPLImage ptn, The ban, which was put place durg the 1980s Aids crisis, was lifted SeptemberA gay man has failed an attempt to have his legal challenge to the ban on homosexual blood donatns examed by the UK's most senr after former health mister Edw Poots won his appeal agast a lg that he had acted irratnally or wh apparent bias matag the 's lifetime ban on gay men donatg blood was lifted Supreme Court refed the se bee the matter was now "amic" a newly-issued cisn, the urt said the applitn did not raise an arguable pot of law of general public importance worthy of further marks the end of a four-year legal battle over blood donatns om gay men Northern Ireland.

GAY BLOOD LEGAL BATTLE NOW 'AMIC'

Challeng to the verdict were ntued by his DUP misterial succsors and the UK Health Secretary Jeremy March 2016, the Court of Appeal Belfast cid there was no basis for ncludg that Mr Poots' cisn was pretermed by his Christian nclud by a 2-1 majory that the matenance of the ban was not disproportnate or ntrary to EU further led that was up to Stormont, rather than the UK health secretary, to ci when gay men n give liftg of the ban, which was put place durg the 1980s Aids crisis, means men whose last sexual ntact wh another man was more than 12 months ago will be ee to donate blood so long as they meet the other donor policy change brgs Northern Ireland to le wh England, Stland and on this story. Image source, Emma RileyImage ptn, Rad operator Emma Riley was discharged om the Navy for beg a lbian the 1990sRishi Sunak has apologised for the historil treatment of LGBT veterans who were sacked or forced out of the ary for beg PM lled the ban an "appallg failure" of the Brish was illegal to be gay the Brish ary until 2000 - wh thoands of veterans thought to be affected.

Addrsg MPs, the prime mister said: "Many endured the most horrific sexual abe and vlence, homophobic bullyg and harassment all while bravely servg this untry.

"The LGBT Veterans Inpennt Review, led by Bra's first openly gay judge Lord Etherton, began last year and heard about the experienc of 1, 145 veterans between 1967 to 2000. Acrdg to the report, the Mistry of Defence said at the time that jtifitn for the policy clud "matenance of operatnal effectivens and efficiency" - but the report said there had been an "prehensible policy of homophobic bigotry" the armed forc. It heard shockg acunts of homophobia, bullyg, blackmail, sexual asslts, "disgraceful" medil examatns, and nversn mak 49 remendatns to the ernment cludg:Affected veterans to be given an "appropriate fancial reward" pped at £50m overallThe rtoratn of medals that had to be hand back on dismissal or dischargeThe clarifitn of pensn rights The prentatn of a special veterans' badgeThe ernment said would rpond full after summer of the veterans affected watched the PM's public of them, Emma Riley, 51, was a Royal Navy rad operator for three years before she was arrted and discharged for beg a lbian after tellg a lleague her sexualy the early told BBC News she weled the report, and hoped would be put to place "swiftly.

RISHI SUNAK APOLOGIS TO LGBT VETERANS FOR PAST ARMED FORC GAY BAN

Carol Man, who was dismissed after tellg her boss she was gay 1978, kept her sexualy secret for another 30 years and said she had been "robbed" of her life.

"Olympian Dame Kelly Holm, who served the army and me out as gay last year, lled the publitn of the report a "historic moment", while Cathere Dixon, a former army officer who is now vice chair at Stonewall, said was "an important step towards jtice" for those whose ary reers were "ed" bee of their sexualy. Many still have a crimal rerd to this also tails how some veterans faced a plete loss of e, while others were emed eligible to claim their pensn bee of their report more than 20 years after four servicemen and women, who were sacked for beg gay, won a se the European Court of Human Rights and overturned the armed forc chary Royal Brish Legn lled on the ernment to accept the report's remendatns chary's director general Charl Byrne weled both the report and Mr Sunak's "landmark apology", sayg many people who had dited their liv to the untry were "forced or felt prsured to leave the armed forc, and this mistreatment stroyed or shortened their reer".

LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS

But there is one easily implementable solutn to the natnal blood-supply shortage that’s been available for years and uld be a lifele: allowg gay and bisexual men to donate eely. S., gay and bisexual men (often referred to as MSM, or “men who have sex wh men”) are not allowed to give blood if they’ve had sex wh another man the past three months. “It is my opn that we ntue to have a real problem wh laws and regulatns based on fear rather than science, ” she ntuatn of a MSM-specific barrier to givg is not only limg the blood supply, ’s unnecsary and “rooted homophobia, ” explas Perry N.

GAY MEN BLOOD DONOR BAN TO BE LIFTED

Conducted tanm wh the natn’s largt blood centers—the Amerin Red Cross, Valant, and OneBlood—the rearch effort will survey 2, 000 gay and bisexual men across the untry between the ag of 18 and 30 who have had sex wh at least one man the past three months. The first step is to sign GLAAD’s petn at You then n—and should—te those around you, “sce many people, cludg gay and bi men, don’t know that this ban exists, ” adds Lasky. Image ptn, Men who have sex wh other men will be allowed to donate bloodThe lifetime ban on blood donatns by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted England, Stland and Wal.

BAN ON GAY MEN GIVG BLOOD TO BE LIFTED

"A gay man a monogamo relatnship who has only had oral sex will still tomatilly be unable to give blood but a heterosexual man who has had multiple partners and not worn a ndom will not be qutned about his behavur, or even then, exclud.

SENR CONSERVATIV BACK LIFTG U.K. GAY BLOOD DONATN BAN

However, he said was impossible to say how many men would actually be able to start donatg blood as "the vast majory of gay men are still [sexually] active" on this storyRelated Inter LksThe BBC is not rponsible for the ntent of external s. A lifetime ban on blood donatn by men who have had sex wh another man was put place the UK the 1980s as a rponse to the spread of Aids and followg a review by the Advisory Commtee on the Safety of Blood, Tissu and Organs (Sabto), men who have not had homosexual sex wh the past year will be able to donate if they meet certa other remendatn has been accepted by the health misters England, Stland and Wal, and the ban will be lifted on 7 who have had anal or oral sex wh another man the past 12 months, wh or whout a ndom, will still not be eligible to donate blood, the DoH 's advisory panel, prisg leadg experts and patient groups, rried out s review based on the latt available evince and found uld no longer support the permanent excln of men who have had sex wh nsired the risk of fectn beg transmted blood, attus of potential donors plyg wh the selectn creria and improvements ttg of donated change means the creria for men who have had sex wh men will be le wh other groups who are ferred om givg blood for 12 months due to fectn risks associated wh sexual clu women who have slept wh a man who has had sex wh another man, people who have slept wh prostut and those who have had sex wh anyone who has jected themselv wh dgs. Current guil say people n never give blood if they have had syphilis, HTLV (Human T-lymphotropic vis) or hepatis B or C, and a lifetime ban is also place for people who have ever worked as a prostute or jected themselv wh announcement was weled by the human rights mpaigner Peter Tatchell, but he said fell short of liftg the ban on gay men who always ed said: "Although the new policy is a big improvement on the existg discrimatory l, a 12-month ban is still excsive and unjtified.

GAY, BISEXUAL MEN N GIVE BLOOD FOR THE FIRST TIME AFTER THE FDA EASED S DONATN POLICI. HERE’S HOW THEY FEEL.

"The activist, who lnched the first mpaign agast the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors 1991, add: "Most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV.

SHOULD ATRALIA END RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN DONATG BLOOD?

Senr Conservativ are among a cross-party group of MPs and Peers llg on the Health Mister to lift the gay blood donatn ban, as the world marks World Blood Donor Day.

I'M A GAY MAN AND HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DONATE BLOOD DUE TO THE FDA BAN. I WAS PART OF THE RED CROSS STUDY THAT WILL HELP OVERTURN THAT.

Has even changed their l, droppg the ban on gay and bi men donatg, om 12 months to three months, rponse to the, POLAND - 2020/06/10: Bags of blood om donors the laboratory at the statn. (Photo by Filip Radwanski/SOPA Imag/LightRocket via Getty Imag)SOPA Imag/LightRocket via Getty ImagMORE FROM FORBESGay, Bi Men Exclud From Donatg Plasma To Ccial U.

"For too long, gay and bisexual men have been treated as a sgle risky group which is not only unfair but is potentially missg out on the thoands of willg and safe donors wh that muny. In rponse to a recent storm where gay and bi men were also banned om donatg plasma to a ccial COVID-19 trial, the NHS Blood and Transplant service was seen to be remdg s crics that a change uld be on the way already:.

HOW FDA'S FORTHG BLOOD DONOR POLICY CHANGE ULD HELP ADDRS STIGMA ABOUT GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

"The UK's blood servic, LGBT+ groups, and amics and experts are workg together through the FAIR (For the Asssment of Individualised Risk) steerg group to explore whether some gay and bisexual men might be able to donate blood whout a ferral.

GAY BLOOD DONORS NIED UNR 1980S POLICY THAT HAS BEEN SLOW TO CHANGE

Updated 15 June: This post prevly stated the NHSBT 'hted at a change' bee of the rponse to the gay ban on donatg to the COVID-19 plasma trials but has been nductg a review on this sce 2019, their rponse has been FROM FORBESU. *Government lays ban for five years*Prsure on Sunak to act*LGBTQ+ activists fear loophol*Campaigners divid over trans rightsBy Lucy MiddletonLONDON, July 20 (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - When Alex me out as gay, the 15-year-old’s parents issued a stark ultimatum: unrgo nversn therapy or clear out of the fay home the northern English cy of chose optn one and unrwent multiple ssns wh elrs om the fay’s Jehovah’s Wns ngregatn, seekg a ‘cure’ for homosexualy. A ernment survey showed that more than half of Brons who had tried nversn therapy were offered through a relig group, almost 12% were signposted by a health re Ozanne, a gay evangelil her 50s who chairs the UK’s Ban Conversn Therapy Coaln, sought treatment her 20s and 30s, after fallg love wh a procs led to hospal admissn for a nervo breakdown.

Jefey Marks, a 62-year-old wrer livg Ccnati has btersweet feelgs about the Food and Dg Admistratn’s recent cisn to ease rtrictns on queer men donatg a close iend fell ill many years ago, Marks had tried donatg blood at the iend's requt but he was turned away om performg the potentially life savg act bee he was gay, spe havg been a long-term monogamo relatnship wh a man for years.

"The s-long FDA ban on queer men donatg, begun 1983, was direct rponse to the HIV/AIDS crisis, which disproportnately affected gay and bisexual men.

GAY MEN STILL FACE HURDL TO DONATE BLOOD AMID NATNAL SHORTAGE

Later, 2020, beme a three-month perd, due to an creased need for donatns the early days of, on May 11, the FDA enacted a plan to lift all rtrictns that directly target gay and bisexual men, choosg stead to asss all donors equally, regardls of their genr or sexual inty.

LGBTQI+ groups have lled for Atralia to change s policy on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men the light of mov other untri to relax July the UK removed s three-month abstence perd for gay and bisexual men donatg blood, and moved to an dividual risk asssment for all donors, regardls of genr or sexual partner. A number of other natns, cludg the Netherlands, Israel, Argenta, France and Germany, have abolished their ban on blood donatns for particular groups sce the panmic began, or plan to do so unr Atralian policy, gay men or trans women who have sex wh men are unable to donate blood if their sexual abstence perd is ls than three months. “Mollg suggts this would actually crease the amount of safe blood available to those need of blood products, ” she ban on gay blood donatns was put place the 1980s when much ls was known about the tectn and transmissn of HIV/ appli to all sexually active gay men, as well as sexually active bisexual men and transgenr women who have sex wh men – cludg those long-term Heiger timated that he donated blood as a teenager more than a dozen tim, before g out as gay.

Sce then, has been lled "neher medilly nor scientifilly warranted" by the Amerin Red Cross and "discrimatory and not based on sound science" by the Amerin Medil Associatn; all donated blood is screened for HIV, regardls of the donor's genr or sexual a gay man, I was barred om donatg blood all my life until I signed up for the Advance study. I wasn't angry that I was beg discrimated agast; I was angry bee I had blood to give — blood that I wanted to give — and wasn't able to bee of an illegimate policy rooted Reagan-era homophobia. Food and Dg Admistratn is nsirg updatg s blood donatn policy, which currently plac some rtrictns on blood donatns om sexually active gay and bisexual a statement, an FDA spokperson said, "While we n't ment on what might be the ntent of the guidance, we n say that the screeng policy we put forward will be genr ntral and science-based.

GAY MAN LLS OUT ‘HOMOPHOBIC’ BLOOD BAN PASSNATE VIO: ‘LET ME NOT MIX UP MY WORDS’

Activists said the rtrictns are based solely on inty rather than dividual risk bee the ban even appli to gay men who are monogamo, tt HIV negative and practice safe sex. "There is a perceptn that beg a gay or bisexual person is and of self unsafe, " Sarah Warbelow, the legal director at Human Rights Campaign, told ABC News. "As LGBTQ lears and medil experts have been sayg for years: bans and rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men are rooted stigma, not science, " said Sarah Kate Ellis, print and CEO of ntued, "Givg one set of l to some people, and another set of l to others, based purely on inty, is blatant discrimatn.

Yezak wanted to jo them but uld not: he is the end of a year of remarkable progrs for gay rights the US, which the supreme urt ma same-sex marriage legal throughout the land, a glarg natnwi equaly remas.

MP ERIC DUNN ENURAGED BY END OF GAY BLOOD BAN UK AS HE ADVOT FOR SAME CANADA

Sexually active gay men are banned om givg Food and Dg Admistratn (FDA) has proposed policy chang that are likely to be implemented soon, but some activists say they do not go far them is Yezak, who found the Natnal Gay Blood Drive mpaign after his experience 2011. Among them was a rctn of the MSM ban om lifetime to one year sce the last sexual ntact, which the agency says better aligns the treatment of gay men wh other groups nsirs at creased risk of HIV and other fectns, such as those who have recently got a tattoo or body piercg.

Twter, for stance, said last month that would not hold on-se blood driv s offic plac where nsired donatn polici to be News reported that July, Col Crowell, a Twter vice-print, wrote to the FDA to nvey his “ep ncerns that both the current and proposed regulatns rtrictg blood donatns by men who have sex wh men unreasonably remov viable donors om the procs and disurag ethil pani om supportg and participatg blood driv” than a blanket policy that exclus gay men who e ndoms monogamo relatnships but not straight men who may have had unprotected sex wh multiple partners, Yezak would like to see dividual risk-based asssment for all screeng would “pletely based on your behavur”, he said. Dpe this urgent need for donatns, people who have sex wh gay or bisexual men are still facg rtrictns on their abily to give Food and Dg Admistratn bars people who have had sex wh gay or bisexual men om donatg blood for three months followg the most recent sexual ntact bee of fears of HIV the blood agency changed the ferral perd om 12 months to three months November 2020 as blood donatns fell and hospals faced cril shortag durg the first year of the COVID-19 advot, cludg the Human Rights Campaign, say the FDA is movg too slowly on removg the rtrictn, sayg that 's an outright ban on the abily of people, particularly gay and bisexual men, to donate blood. Rtrictns on blood donatns om gay and bisexual men, who are nsired to be at high risk for HIV or AIDS transmissn, date back to the and bisexual men unrgo dividual risk asssments stead of time-based bans untri around the world, recently cludg Greece and France, acrdg to ternatnal reports.