Since the 1980s, the UK placed a ban on blood donation from gay men because of the spread of HIV and AIDS. The UK Department of Health announced on Thursday September 8th that the ban will soon be lifted in November. Currently, men who have ever had oral or anal sex with another man, even if a condom was used, are permanently excluded from blood donation in the UK. In the future, only men who have had anal or oral sex in the past 12 months, with or without a condom, will be asked not to donate blood. Men whose last sexual contact with another man was more than 12 months ago will be able to donate, provided that they meet the donor selection criteria.
I think that this is a big advancement not only in the UK's health department, but also in the morality of the ban being lifted. It shows how the global perspective has changed and discrimination is slowly being alleviated. Gay men are not the only individuals who are susceptible to blood infections. I don't think they should be excluded from donating blood if they don't have any infectious diseases. Australia, Sweden, and Japan have also previously lifted this ban. The US examined lifting the ban in 2010, but decided not to. Seeing that the United States has one of the worst health care outcomes, this makes me question the integrity of the US government.
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/09/08/parts-of-uk-to-lift-lifetime-ban-on-gay-men-donating-blood/?hpt=he_c2
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