France lifts ban on gay men giving blood

Donors: gay men were previously disbarred from giving blood
AFP/Getty Images
Hannah Al-Othman12 July 2016

France has lifted a ban preventing gay men from giving blood.

François Hollande's health minister Marisol Touraine first promised to overturn the lifetime ban in November, when he pledged to tackle “a taboo and discrimination.”

At the time he said that “no blood donors can be refused based on their sexual orientation”, after studies found no justifiable evidence to uphold the bar on men who have sex with men from giving blood.

However, under the refined system, which came into effect this week, a 12-month deferral period will remain in place for blood donations.

There will also be a four-month deferral period for plasma donations, meaning gay and bisexual men must abstain from sex if they wish to donate.

The ban was was put in place at the height of the AIDS crisis, and Mr Touraine said it will be lifted in stages to allow the government to study if and how the level of risk changes.

Sophie Aujean of ILGA-Europe told France 24: “This is a good sign, which shows that men who have sex with other men are becoming less stigmatised.

“A year is a very long time, and will probably mean that a lot of men who have sex with other men will opt out of donating blood because of it. Four months would be more reasonable.”

A permanent ban on gay men from giving blood across the UK was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in 2011.

Currently, in England, Scotland and Wales, gay and bisexual men are banned from giving blood unless they abstain from sex for 12 months, as are women who have sex with bisexual men.

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