UK rescinds blood donor ban for MSM

Issue: October 2011

The lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have had sex with men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales, according to a Britain Department of Health press release. The change will be implemented by NHS Blood and Transplant in England and North Wales and by the Blood Services of Scotland and Wales on Nov. 7.

“The [Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO)] review concluded that the safety of the blood supply would not be affected by the change and we would like to reassure patients receiving transfusions that the blood supply is as safe as it reasonably can be and amongst the safest in the world,” Lorna Williamson, BSc, MD, NHS Blood and Transplant’s medical and research director, said in the press release.

The Advisory Committee on SaBTO in collaboration with patient groups and key stakeholders conducted an evidence-based review and examined the risk for infection transmitted in blood, attitudes to compliance with the donor selection criteria and improvements in testing of donated blood. Results indicated there was no supporting evidence for the permanent exclusion of MSM.

Health ministers accepted the recommendations that men whose last sexual contact with another man was more than 1 year ago are eligible to donate blood, if they meet the other donor selection criteria. However, men who have had anal or oral sex with another man during the past year remain ineligible to donate blood.

With this change, the criteria for MSM will be in line with other groups that are deferred from giving blood for 1 year due to infection risks associated with sexual behaviors, according to the Britain Department of Health. “It is essential that our donor selection rules are based on good evidence to maintain their credibility with donors, and this change gives us an updated policy that is proportionate to the current risk,” Williamson said.

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