Gay men may now also donate blood SA | Life

Contents:

• WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN?
• GAY MEN MAY NOW ALSO DONATE BLOOD SA
• SOUTH AI LIFTS BAN ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD
• LETTG GAY MEN DONATE BLOOD COULD HELP SOLVE A MAJOR HEALTH CRISIS
• NEW ATRALIAN BLOOD DONATN L FOR GAY MEN DON’T GO FAR ENOUGH, ADVOT SAY
• CHANG TO SOUTH AIN GAY BLOOD DONATN BAN

WHAT ARE THE BLOOD DONATN L GLOBALLY FOR GAY AND BISEXUAL 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.

GAY MEN MAY NOW ALSO DONATE BLOOD SA

South Ai's prev policy on blood donatn was perceived as discrimatory agast gay men. Gay South Ain men are now allowed to donate blood as a new non-discrimatory policy has been implemented by the ernment, to the new policy, gay men were seen as havg a high risk of beg fected wh HIV and uld only donate blood to the South Ain Natnal Blood Service (SANBS) if they had been celibate for six months or old policy was perceived to unfairly target gay men, as allowed heterosexual people who engaged equally risky or sual sex to donate. "Blood donatn polici perceived as discrimatory agast gay men are place many England, Stland and Wal, men are not permted to give blood for 12 months after havg sex wh another man.

SOUTH AI LIFTS BAN ON GAY MEN DONATG BLOOD

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. ”In 2015, theFDA loosened s rtrictn, permtg gay and bisexual men to donate blood as long as they hadn’t had sex wh another man the past year. For example, if you’re a gay man who wears ndoms durg sex, you lim your risk of ntractg HIV.

Same go for gay men who are married or a long-term monogamo relatnship.

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

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.

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

”The policy change uld have a signifint posive effect on the mental health of gay and bisexual men, too. It also puts gay and bisexual men at higher risk for acquirg HIV over time. “Social and stctural factors that e gay men to feel othered e them to engage risky sexual behavr, ” Halkis says.

So a ban like this isn’t jt harmful to the Amerin public; “’s credibly harmful to the gay muny, both emotnally and physilly. 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. Let them know you don’t support discrimatory practic that ban gay and bisexual men om dog their civic duty.

CHANG TO SOUTH AIN GAY BLOOD DONATN BAN

South Ai has end their ban on gay men donatg blood. N be, South Ai has beaten to the punch on the issue of gay men donatg blood. Mamba Onle reports that the untry is now permtg sexually active gay men to donate blood to the South Ain Natnal Blood Service (SANBS).

Congrs members wrote the Department of Health and Human Servic, unr which the FDA works, cricizg the ban as an outdated measure that perpetuat stereotyp about gay men.

South Ai is takg a tack siar to that recently implemented Canada, where gay men are allowed to donate blood to the Canadian Blood Servic, but unr some rtrictns. As untri like Spa and Italy, South Ai will also ban donatns by anyone, gay or straight, who has recently had unprotected sex.

Raju explaed that "South Ai was different om other untri terms of risk of HIV, " wh the epimic affectg the majory of heterosexual people rather than gays. She has ntributed to other publitns, cludg The Village Voice, Gay Cy News, Chelsea Now and The Advote, and liv Brooklyn, New York.