Men who have sex with men in a long-term relationship will be able to donate blood in England following changes to blood donation criteria
Men who have sex with men in a long-term relationship will be able to donate blood in England following changes to blood donation criteria announced by Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock today.
The move, which will also be implemented in each of the devolved administrations, sees the UK become one of the first countries in the world to adopt a more individualised risk-based approach to donor selection criteria.
Following recommendations from the Advisory Committee for the Safety of Blood Tissues and Organs (SaBTO), donors who have had one sexual partner and who have been with their sexual partner for more than 3 months, will be eligible to donate regardless of their gender, the gender of their partner, or the type of sex they have.
The ‘For Assessment of Individualised Risk’ (FAIR) steering group, a collaboration of UK blood services and LGBT charities led by NHSBT and established in 2019, conducted extensive research into the risks associated with more individualised blood donor selection policy. Their report, published today, proposed a move away from a blanket 3-month deferral for men who have had sex with men, and instead to identifying a wider range of ‘highest risk behaviours’ which applies to all donors, regardless of sexuality.
This change will be implemented by Summer 2021.
Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:
Minister for Blood Donation Lord Bethell said:
In a further step forward for equality in blood donation, under the new selection process, all donors will complete the same donor health check prior to donation, regardless of gender or sexuality, recognising that all donors, including heterosexual men and women, have potential to carry infections.
Anyone who has had the same sexual partner in the last 3 months will be eligible to donate and men who have sex with men will no longer be asked to declare if they have had sex with another man or their sexuality, making blood donation gender-neutral and more inclusive.
Su Brailsford, Associate Medical Director at NHS Blood and Transplant and chair of FAIR said:
New donor criteria will also defer those who have engaged in chem sex, defined as a drug taken immediately before or during sex to enhance sexual interaction, in the last 3 months or been treated for syphilis in the last 12 months.
The Chair of SaBTO Professor James Neuberger said:
Eamonn Ferguson, Professor of Health Psychology at University of Nottingham, said:
Dr Michael Brady, Medical Director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said:
Ethan Spibey, founder of FreedomToDonate, said:
Nancy Kelley (she/her), Chief Executive, Stonewall, said:
Deborah Gold, Chief Executive at National AIDS Trust, said:
Background Information
The FAIR steering group concluded this updated method of selection criteria will maintain the world-leading safe supply of blood in the UK.
Blood donation guidelines are set by DHSC and based on recommendations from SaBTO, which advises health ministers in all 4 UK nations, the UK blood services, and the NHS more widely on the most appropriate ways to ensure the safety of blood, cells, tissues and organs for transfusion or transplantation.
In the UK there’s less than one-in-a-million chance of an unsuitable blood donation being used in patient care.
Following implementation, monitoring by the UK blood services will ensure new donor selection criteria do not have any unforeseen consequence, any changes in acute and chronic infections in new and regular donors are recorded and the development of methods to monitor overall deferral.
A post-implementation survey to obtain feedback from donors on the proposed change in pre-donation questions will also be developed.