Should Atralia end rtrictns on gay and bisexual men donatg blood? | Health | The Guardian

Contents:

• NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY
• SHOULD ATRALIA END RTRICTNS ON GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN DONATG BLOOD?
• ATRALIA HAS OFFICIALLY EASED ITS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN
• 'WE REALLY WANT TO HELP': CALLS TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY BLOOD DONATNS
• WORLD-FIRST MOVE TO LIFT GAY, BISEXUAL BAN ON BLOOD PLASMA DONATN
• WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?
• ‘UNFAIR AND DISCRIMATORY’ BAN ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD NEEDS TO CHANGE: EXPERTS
• WHICH UNTRI PROHIB GAY OR BISEXUAL MEN OM DONATG BLOOD?

NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY

New Atralian blood donatn l for gay men don’t go far enough, advot sayNew l that change the barriers facg gay men who want to donate blood Atralia don’t go far enough, advot blood donatn l for gay men have e to effect on Sunday allowg them to give blood if they have been celibate for three measure has dramatilly slashed that wag perd om 12 months – which effectively banned gay men om donatg – but advot say still discrimat agast many who would wish to year the Atralian Red Cross’s Lifeblood service announced the l would be changed om January 31, 2021, after a review of s sexual activy ferral new le, which also apply to transgenr people who have had sex wh a man, appli to oral and anal sex – wh or whout a Theraptic Goods Admistratn approved Lifeblood’s plan to cut the wag perd, and to also allow homosexual men to donate plasma and platelets. ”Gay men had prevly been banned om donatg durg the height of the AIDS epimic the 1980s, wh those l lgerg for new change me followg a ph for blood donors durg the COVID-19 panmic, wh MPs Alex Greenwich and Dr Time Read volly supportg the move their rpective stat of NSW and Victoria. “The current ernments of both the Uned Stat and the Uned Kgdom are mted to replacg their gay blood bans wh dividual risk asssment, and ‘s time for Atralia to do the same.

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

”The study also showed that among gay men who would donate blood, the prevalence of HIV is lower than the general populatn, Mr Croome said. 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. “It rerc negative nnotatns of gay sex and stigmatisg certa groups of men. I fight agast the ia only gay men n ntract HIV.

After s of harsh rtrictns for LGBTQI+ people who have wished to donate blood, Atralia has fally relaxed s long-standg blood donatn l for gay and bisexual men, as well as those who are transgenr. Atralia now jos the Uned Stat and Canada who have also changed their blood donatn l to three months, per Gay Tim.

ATRALIA HAS OFFICIALLY EASED ITS BLOOD DONATN RTRICTNS FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN

“The current ernments of both the Uned Stat and the Uned Kgdom are mted to replacg their gay blood bans wh dividual risk asssment, and ’s time for Atralia to do the same.

Acrdg to, the study also showed that among gay men who would donate blood, the prevalence of HIV is lower than the general populatn.

Atralia's blood stocks are expected to drop to their lowt pot sce the start of the panmic after donatns took a nosedive due to the current surge flu s across the untry, as well as lds and pots:There have been a large number of blood donatn appotment ncellatns and no-shows, due to the surge flu sAnyone who is reverg om COVID-19 and wants to give blood should wa for seven days of beg symptom-eeBisexual and gay men, as well as trans women who have had sex wh men the last three months, nnot give blood Atralia, but advot are llg for changeThe Atralian Red Cross Lifeblood needs 17, 500 donors to help raise supply over the next week, wh their stocks of A, O, and B blood groups unr anisatn says will have "two days" of supply left by mid week.

'WE REALLY WANT TO HELP': CALLS TO EASE RTRICTNS ON GAY BLOOD DONATNS

Bisexual men, gay men, and trans women nnot give blood Atralia if they have had sex wh men the past three months.

"The Red Cross Lifeblood Service is lerally beggg people to donate, yet they're sayg to gay men who are safe to donate, 'We don't want you'. The rat of new HIV fectns amongst gay men is gog down Atralia, whereas the rat of fectn amongst heterosexual people is gog up.

WORLD-FIRST MOVE TO LIFT GAY, BISEXUAL BAN ON BLOOD PLASMA DONATN

"Ben Dudman said, as a gay man, he felt the policy was "archaic" and need urgent reform.

(Supplied: Ben Dudman)Canada this year removed the ban on blood donatns om gay men, wh the untry's health partment scribg as "a signifint tone toward a more clive blood donatn system" Mister Jt T said the change was long overdue, sayg the old approach was "discrimatory and wrong" Croome said he would like to see Atralia take a siar approach, wh other untri, cludg the Uned Kgdom and France, also implementg a system that asss the dividual risks of every donor. A spokperson for Red Cross Lifeblood said they "unrstood the l would exclu some groups", but that although gay and bisexual men clared monogamo relatnships were low risk, they were "still at a higher risk of exposure than people heterosexual relatnships".

If you’re a sexually active gay or bisexual man, or trans, you n’t donate blood right now 's nothg and bisexual men were banned om givg blood durg the HIV and AIDS crisis that gripped the world the total ban beme a 12 month celibacy perd a few years later and earlier this year that was rced even further, meang men who have sex wh men now need to wa three months sce their last sexual ntact wh a man before they n Rodney Croome om natnal LGBTQI+ advocy anisatn don't thk there should be any "ferral" perd place at all. "It's an ia beg embraced by other untri around the UK recently announced 's scrappg s three month postponement for gay and bisexual men who have had the same sexual partner for more than three 's beg replaced wh an dividualised risk asssment that would mean anyone who wants to donate blood would be asked qutns about their sexual Croome thks that mak sense. "The overwhelmg majory of gay and bisexual men Atralia don't have HIV and will never have HIV bee we practise safe sex or bee we're monogamo relatnships, " he said.

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

Rearch rried out untri that have moved towards dividualised risk asssments has found the risk of sexually transmted fectns enterg the blood supply do not UK ernment has hailed what lls a "world leadg, safe optn" that regnis dividuals for the actns they take "rather than their sexual preference" says we need to be seeg siar progrs Atralia bee the current l around blood donatn are damagg to gay and bisexual men.

"There's a stereotype of gay men that we're somehow more prone to disease, that we're somehow more likely to be a threat to the health of others, " he said. "'I felt so small'Daniel Cottier was turned away when he tried to donate blood New South Wal earlier this a gay man, he followed the l and gave up sex three months before prentg for his when he got to the clic he found out that he still wasn't eligible to give blood bee he had taken the HIV preventative meditn PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis) wh the last 12 uldn't fd that rmatn on the Atralian Red Cross Lifeblood webse. "Daniel later got an apology om Lifeblood and they have updated their webse to make clear that unr the current rtrictns if you are a gay man who PrEP, you have to wa a year sce your last dose before you n donate.

‘UNFAIR AND DISCRIMATORY’ BAN ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD NEEDS TO CHANGE: EXPERTS

"But Rodney Croome believ the evince is creasgly showg the advantag of rcg rtrictns for gay, bi and trans people and the change would benef more than jt those muni. A major barrier preventg most gay and bisexual men om donatg life-savg blood plasma uld soon be removed as Atralia’s medil regulator nsirs scrappg the sexual activy creria for potential a world first, the Theraptic Goods Admistratn (TGA) is urgently prrisg a submissn om Atralian Red Cross Lifeblood that all qutns relatg to sexual enunters be removed om the plasma donor qutnnaire. Eligibily creria prohibs anyone at higher risk of exposure to HIV om donatg blood for three months sce their last sexual activy, effectively banng sexually active gay and bisexual men om donatg.

WHICH UNTRI PROHIB GAY OR BISEXUAL MEN OM DONATG BLOOD?

“This is genuely excg news”: Matthew Mottola, 26, has not been eligible to donate blood sce he was high Eddie JimIf Lifeblood’s applitn – dubbed the “plasma pathway” – is approved, gay and bisexual men, as well as people takg HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), would be able to donate blood plasma whout any wa time regardls of sexual activy as long as they met all other eligibily creria. (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.