Landmark change to blood donation eligibility rules on today’s World Blood Donor Day

New eligibility rules that will allow more men who have sex with men to donate blood, platelets and plasma come into effect this week, marking an historic move to make blood donation more inclusive while keeping blood just as safe.

LGBT donor at health screening with nurse From today (Monday) – World Blood Donor Day – the questions asked of everyone when they come to donate blood in England, Scotland and Wales will change. Eligibility will be based on individual circumstances surrounding health, travel and sexual behaviours evidenced to be at a higher risk of sexual infection.

Donors will no longer be asked if they are a man who has had sex with another man, removing the element of assessment that is based on the previous population-based risks.

Instead, any individual who attends to give blood - regardless of gender - will be asked if they have had sex and, if so, about recent sexual behaviours. Anyone who has had the same sexual partner for the last three months will be eligible to donate.

The changes to the re-named Donation Safety Check form* will affect blood, plasma and platelet donors. The process of giving blood will not change.

Ella Poppitt, Chief Nurse for Blood Donation at NHS Blood and Transplant, said: “Patient safety is at the heart of everything we do. This change is about switching around how we assess the risk of exposure to a sexual infection, so it is more tailored to the individual.

“We screen all donations for evidence of significant infections, which goes hand-in-hand with donor selection to maintain the safety of blood sent to hospitals. All donors will now be asked about sexual behaviours which might have increased their risk of infection, particularly recently acquired infections. This means some donors might not be eligible on the day but may be in the future.

“Our priority is to make sure that donors are able to answer the pre-donation questions in a setting that makes them feel comfortable and safe and donation is something that continues to make people feel amazing. Our staff have been trained to make sure these more personal conversations are conducted with care and sensitivity and accurate information is captured.

“We are asking all blood, plasma and platelet donors to please consider the new questions alongside the existing health and travel questions before their appointment, and to re-schedule if they do not meet the changed criteria to donate right now.

“We want donation to be a positive experience and we are looking forward to welcoming donors as we move forward with these changes.”

Under the changes people can donate if they have had the same sexual partner for the last three months, or if they have a new sexual partner with whom they have not had anal sex, and there is no known recent exposure to an STI or recent use of PrEP or PEP. This will mean more men who have sex with men will be eligible to donate.

Anyone who has had anal sex with a new partner or with multiple partners in the last three months will be not be able to give blood right now but may be eligible in the future. Donors who have been recently treated for gonorrhoea will be deferred. Anyone who has ever received treatment for syphilis will not be able to give blood.

The changes follow an evidence-based review** into individualised criteria by the FAIR (For the Assessment of Individualised Risk) steering group led by NHS Blood and Transplant. LGBT donor holding a bag of his recently donated blood

FAIR concluded on a new donor selection system which is fairer and will also maintain the UK’s status as one of the safest blood supplies in the world. The findings were accepted in full by the government last December.

Data around the impact of the donor selection changes will be kept under review and assessed 12 months after implementation to determine if changes are needed. Feedback from donors, LGBT+ individuals, patients and representatives will be a key consideration in this review.

These changes come at a time when demand for blood is increasing. This year, as life and the NHS start to return to normal, patients need blood donors more than ever.

Become a blood donor. Register today and book and appointment by calling 0300 123 23 23, downloading the GiveBloodNHS app, or register online.

If you have been deferred because of previous guidelines and would like to donate, please call NHS Blood and Transplant on 0300 123 23 23. One of our team can review the new guidelines with you and, if eligible, book your next appointment.

You can also donate plasma for antibody medicines that are used to save the lives of people with rare immune diseases - potential plasma donors should call 0300 123 23 23.

FAIR steering group quotes

Ethan Spibey, founder of FreedomToDonate, said: "After many years of campaigning, and working with the UK’s blood services, we are delighted that this change is now coming into effect.

“Thanks to the work of dedicated individuals and charities alongside NHSBT, the UK now has one of the world’s most progressive blood donation policies and more people than ever will be able to safely donate blood. The work of the FAIR steering group shows that simply being a man who has sex with men is not a good enough reason to exclude someone from donating blood.

“This is more than just about a fairer and more inclusive system, it's about those who rely on blood, and giving blood literally saves lives. I would encourage anyone who is able to safely donate blood to register to do so."

Professor Eamonn Ferguson, University of Nottingham, said: “I am very proud to be part of the FAIR project, which when the changes recommended by the project come into effect in June 2021 will mean that any individual who attends to give blood – regardless of gender or sexuality – will be assessed for eligibility against sexual behaviour risks and deferred if found to be at a higher risk of infection. This a major step forward to creating a fair and equitable blood donor system for all, while maintaining safety. We provided the behavioural science research evidence, based on surveys of donors and non-donors, and interviews with donor staff, donors, non-donors, men-who-have-sex-with-men and patients, to the FAIR project. This was triangulated with the epidemiological evidence to identify the best combination of questions to use for the policy change. This shows how bringing different scientific approaches (behavioural science and epidemiology) together is beneficial to support evidence-based policy changes.”

Deborah Gold, Chief Executive of National AIDS Trust, said: “We welcome the changes today meaning more gay and bisexual men can donate blood safely because of a more individualised assessment of risk. We’re delighted the changes have been brought in as we participated in the FAIR steering group which made these recommendations. We’ve long campaigned for a safe, fair, and science-.based eligibility process so more people can give blood.

“This is only a first step in achieving a more inclusive approach and we now want to see other exclusionary criteria urgently reviewed so donors are asked questions that successfully identify higher risk, without unnecessarily excluding people or groups.”

Robbie de Santos, Director of Communications and External Affairs for Stonewall (he/him) said: “We welcome today’s historic change, which will help ensure more gay and bi men can donate blood and represents an important step towards a donation selection policy entirely based on an individualised assessment of risk. We want to see a blood donation system that allows the greatest number of people to donate safely and we will continue to work with Government to build on this progress and ensure that more people, including LGBT+ people, can donate blood safely in the future.”

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Notes to editors

*The form was previously named Donor Health Check

**To read the full recommendations set out by FAIR visit: https://www.blood.co.uk/news-and-campaigns/news-and-statements/fair-steering-group/
The Government sets blood donor selection criteria based on expert advice from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO). In 2017, the UK introduced a world-leading blood donation policy reducing the deferral to three months since last sexual contact for men who have sex with men. In many parts of the world the deferral is 12 months or longer and in some areas men who have sex with men are asked not to donate at all.
FAIR membership includes NHS Blood and Transplant, Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, the Welsh Blood Service, the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service, Public Health England, the University of Nottingham, the National Aids Trust (NAT), Stonewall, Freedom to Donate, Terrence Higgins Trust (THT), patient and donor representatives, and experts in epidemiology, virology and psychology.
FAIR was set up at the beginning of 2019 at the request of the Department of Health and Social Care.

About NHS Blood and Transplant:

NHS Blood and Transplant is a joint England and Wales Special Health Authority. We provide the blood donation service for England and the organ donation service for the UK. We also provide donated tissues, stem cells and cord blood. We are an essential part of the NHS, saving and improving lives through public donation.
It is quick and easy to book an appointment to give blood. Call 0300 123 23 23 or visit blood.co.uk
NHSBT has 23 permanent donor centres in London (Tooting, Edgware, West End) Manchester (Plymouth Grove and Norfolk House), Cambridge, Luton, Nottingham, Sheffield, Leicester, Bradford, Leeds, Newcastle, Lancaster, Liverpool, Stoke, Birmingham, Bristol, Gloucester, Oxford, Southampton, Poole and Plymouth. Our mobile teams also collect blood at community venues such as church halls around the country.
NHS Blood and Transplant needs to collect 1.4 million units of blood each year to meet the needs of patients across England.
There are four main blood groups – O, A, B and AB. O negative (the universal blood group) and B negative are particularly vulnerable to shortfalls. So, we want people with those blood groups to donate as regularly as they can.
The overall demand for blood is falling by 3-4% per year due to improvements in clinical practice and our work with hospitals to ensure blood is used appropriately for patients.
We need 135,000 new blood donors each year to replace those who stop donating and to ensure we have the right mix of blood groups to match patient needs in the future
We urgently need more black donors as they are more likely to have the blood type needed to treat the increasing number of patients suffering from sickle cell disease.
There is an urgent need for donors with Ro blood. Only 2% of our donors have Ro type blood. Collecting enough is a constant challenge. Ro is often used to save people with the rare blood disorder, sickle cell disease. Ro blood is ten times more common in black people than in white people.
You can donate plasma for medicines at donor centres in Barnsley, Birmingham, Bolton, Bristol, Chelmsford, Coventry, Croydon, Manchester, Reading, Stockton, Stratford, Tottenham, Twickenham and Wolverhampton. Plasma-based medicines are used to treat rare immune diseases. Potential plasma donors should call 0300 123 23 23.

Become a blood donor

Can gay men give blood?

The donation rules for men who have sex with men will not change until summer 2021. Find out the current rules for blood donation.

Find out more