France has lifted its previous restrictions on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
The country introduced a ban on gay guys giving blood in 1983 with the arrival of AIDS. The ban remained in place for over three decades.
In 2016, it allowed gay men to donate blood if they had not had sex in the previous 12 months. That was shortened to four months in 2019.
Last year, lawmakers voted to drop the time restrictions completely. The change in law took effect in March, with Health Minister Olivier Véran saying on Twitter, “we are ending an inequality that was no longer justified.”
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Violette Cordaro, head of the LGBTQ center Nosig in Nantes, said the change had partly come about because of the increase in gay men taking PrEP. This made the previous four-month restrictions nonsensical.
“It allows homosexuals who do not take PrEP—a preventive treatment that protects against HIV—to give blood. While those who do take it, who therefore carry the least risk, cannot give blood,” she said.
“In any case, in the LGBT community, many people are taking PrEP today, as there is still no vaccine [against HIV].”
People who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness, including HIV or Hepatitis C, can still not donate blood.
What’s the blood donation situation in the US?
In the United States, men can only donate blood if they have not had sex with another man in the previous 90 days.
Earlier this year, LGBTQ advocates, health experts, and more than two dozen members of Congress wrote an open letter calling on the Food and Drug Administration to end the “discriminatory” practice.
The call came after the Red Cross said the Covid-19 pandemic had led to the biggest shortage in blood donations in over a decade.
“Any policy that continues to categorically single out the LGBTQ+ community is discriminatory and wrong. Given advances in blood screening and safety technology, a time-based policy for gay and bisexual men is not scientifically sound, continues to effectively exclude an entire group of people, and does not meet the urgent demands of the moment,” the group wrote.
Jay Franzone, an LGBTQ Advocate who has worked to end the gay blood ban, told Queerty he welcomed the news from France.
“France is joining the ranks of Spain, Argentina, Chile, Mexico, and Italy,” he said. “In the U.S., instead of implementing a ban on individuals with a high risk of contracting HIV, the Food and Drug Administration which oversees blood donor guidelines has chosen to focus on excluding an entire group of people.”
Advocacy group GLAAD has also called for the FDA to lift its ban.
Rich Ferraro, GLAAD’s chief communications officer, told NBC, “By relying on stigma rather than science, the FDA is not just harming members of the LGBTQ community, but all Americans.”
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London_resistance
Globetrotter is correct. Here in the UK we have a strong feminist movement that has resisted takeover by gender woo and trans ideology, and we still have some strong trades unions, and a gay/lesbian movement that came out of the feminist left , and that’s why we resist the US woke nonsense on Gender ideology.
You yanks don’t call us TERF ISLAND for nothing!
ShiningSex
Some “woke” culture is annoying, but transphobia is far more annoying and dangerous. TERFs are f*cking ignorant morons. Rights of ALL woman is important, not just CIS women. Take the ignorant idea and f*ck off!
SDWalker96
yeah… not all us brits agree with London_resistance here… apologies
ShiningSex
It’s ignorant for any country (including here) to not allow gays to donate blood. It’s pure prejudice. All blood is tested and should be. HIV is still happening and STILL happens with heterosexual people.
Allowing gays to donate could help the supply that has gone through many desperate pleas for donations. Stop being ignorant and allow us to donate!!!!
boblrice
London, you’re definitely a paid troll because you just cut and pasted this exact post from one earlier today. Jesus you’re lazy. Whatever you’re getting paid in rubles in certainly way more than you’re worth.