Change to blood donation rules called ‘a slap in the face’
Gay and bisexual men will now be able to donate blood, but only if they abstain from sex with other men for three months, the New Zealand Blood Service has announced.
Previously, any man who had sex with another man would have to abstain from sex for a year before being allowed to give blood.
The change took effect from yesterday. The same reduction will also apply for people who previously lived in a country known to have a high prevalence of HIV, as well as sex workers and their partners.
The Blood Service said there was now a significant body of evidence that supported a reduction in the deferral period.
Warren Dempsey-coy, who has been in a monogamous relationship with his husband for more than 30 years, said this may seem like progress, but it was not.
‘‘I still see it as discrimination. There’s one set of rules for a certain section of people and another for the rest.
‘‘Blood is blood and every donation is screened. I’m a gay, married man with no risk of having HIV, and yet I’d still have to abstain from sex for three months to give blood. For me, it’s nothing but a slap in the face.’’
A person who has used medication to prevent HIV must also wait three months after using the medication before donating blood.
Anyone who is living with HIV, has hepatitis B or hepatitis C, or has ever injected drugs not prescribed by a doctor or health professional is banned from donating blood for life.
AIDS Foundation Fellow Dr Peter Saxton, said although each individual blood donation was tested for viruses like HIV, hepatitis B and C, there’s a small chance testing would not detect an infection that was recently contracted.
Saxton said the rules reflect the high concentration of HIV among gay men in New Zealand.
‘‘It also reflects the relative rarity of HIV among heterosexual people in New Zealand who aren’t already deferred. The changes follow evidence that reducing the deferral period has not decreased safety for blood recipients. The three-month period remains because of the ongoing possibility of the tests not detecting recent infections.’’
New Zealand has low rates of HIV compared to internationally: In 2018 there were only 178 new diagnoses, and sexual transmission accounted for most cases.
While the majority of new diagnoses were gay men, the annual number of heterosexual men and women infected with HIV in NZ has risen gradually since the mid-1990s.
A lifetime ban on blood donation for men who have sex with other men was introduced in the 1980s amid concerns about HIV.