Editorial: End of ban on gay blood donations a long time coming

Editorial

THREE KEY POINTS

• Medsafe has approved a change to blood donation rules which would allow more gay and bisexual men to donate
• All donors will have an individualised risk assessment, regardless of gender, sex or sexual orientation
• The change is expected to occur next year and could boost the number of blood donations

“Discriminatory” rules which prevent some gay and bisexual men from donating blood will be changed next year, the New Zealand Blood Service confirmed last month.

Chief medical officer Dr Sarah Morley said Medsafe had approved an application to change the way it assessed potential blood and plasma donors.

With this application approved, New Zealand is one step closer to scrapping the ban on blood donations from gay men.

The news also comes one year on from the removal of the “mad cow” blood donation restriction, which happened in February last year.

At the moment, New Zealand men cannot donate blood if they have had oral or anal sex with another man in the last three months. This ban, with a three-month window, is to reduce the risk of passing undetected HIV on to a blood recipient.

However, as many have argued over the years, a blanket ban like this is outdated, unscientific and discriminatory, as it uses a broad-brush approach that excludes people who pose no risk of HIV transmission, such as those in a monogamous relationship or who had not had sex with new or multiple partners.

Under the new system, all donors would have individualised risk assessments, regardless of gender, sex or sexual orientation.

“At this stage, we anticipate that individualised donor assessments will be introduced in early 2026. We are committed to change, and we look forward to soon welcoming more gay, bisexual, takatāpui and other men who have sex with men into our whānau of lifesavers,” Morley said.

This change will put an end to decades of discrimination against people based on their sexuality – people who could otherwise have helped save lives but were being barred from doing so.

The change, as Auckland University’s Associate Professor Peter Saxton said, will take Aotearoa New Zealand “one step closer to a more inclusive blood donor policy” and will provide more blood for those who so desperately need it.

Dr Peter Saxton. Photo / RNZ

A Sex and Prevention of Transmission Study (Spots) study last year found that three times as many gay and bisexual men would donate if the rules were changed to a more individualised assessment.

“Spots data show that four out of five gay and bisexual men in New Zealand wanted to donate blood if the rules were changed and they were allowed to donate. Importantly, our data suggest this would be safe for blood recipients. We found no participants with confirmed, undiagnosed HIV,” Saxton said.

We often tell stories of people in desperate need of blood donations, or those whose lives were saved by generous blood and plasma they received from fellow New Zealanders.

This change to the criteria will likely see an increase in the number of people donating blood to save lives. In a world where so much news feels like the world is taking steps back, this feels a very welcome change.