Israel to allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood

by Tim Gibson (mygwork)

Israel is set to lead the world in removing the mandatory 12-month abstinence period for gay and bisexual men to donate blood. The new program will freeze the blood donated by queer men for four months, the donor will then be required to come back for a second donation which will be checked by the MDA (the Israeli equivalent of the Red Cross). If the second donation comes back as negative for any infectious diseases the blood will be approved for general use.

The move is a huge step forward on the issue which was recently brought to public attention after the Orlando shooting in America prevented gay men from donating blood to the victims of the LGBT massacre. Most Western countries follow the same rule of only allowing gay and bisexual men to donate blood after 12 months of abstaining from sex with men, a rule seen by many as archaic and homophobic in a decade that has seen dramatic decreases in HIV infection rates, rapid new testing methods, as well as the advent of Prep and other preventative drugs. The UK recently reduced this deferral period from 12 months to 12 weeks.

Meirav Ben-Ari, an Israeli member of parliament who worked with the MDA to create this new program, said she was “happy to take part in the solution of the issue of blood donation,” and understands that “for years, there was a frustrating situation in which LGBTs could not donate blood, and when they did, they had to lie about their sexual orientation. Today is an important historic step toward equality.”

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