Gay and bi men will now be able to donate blood on an equal footing to heterosexuals in the UK. The country is the latest to review its ban on donating blood as HIV transmission levels fall among men who have sex with men.
The policy will now allow blood donations from anyone who has only had one sexual partner – or, indeed, no sexual partners – in the last three months.
It replaces a policy where gay and bi men had to abstain from both oral and anal sex for three months before donating. Announcing the policy today, the UK’s Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: ‘This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the