Gay men will be able to give blood when government restrictions are lifted later this year, the Department of Health has said.
A lifetime ban on blood donation by men who have had sex with another man was put in place in the UK in the 1980s as a response to the spread of Aids and HIV.
But following a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto), men who have not had homosexual sex within the past year will be able to donate if they meet certain other criteria.
The recommendation has been accepted by the health ministers in England, Scotland and Wales, and the ban will be lifted on 7 November. . . . .
Sabto’s advisory panel, comprising leading experts and patient groups, carried out its review based on the latest available evidence and found it could no longer support the permanent exclusion of men who have had sex with men.
They considered the risk of infection being transmitted in blood, attitudes of potential donors in complying with the selection criteria and improvements in testing of donated blood.
The change means the criteria for men who have had sex with men will be in line with other groups who are deferred from giving blood for 12 months due to infection risks associated with sexual behaviours. . . . .
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