The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced it will partially lift a 30-year ban on blood donations from gay men. Under the new policy, gay men will be allowed to donate blood if they have been celibate for one year.
The change aligns the US with policies in the UK, Australia and Japan, which also have a one-year deferral period for men who have sex with men. However, some gay activists have criticised the rule as discriminatory, arguing it continues to stigmatise gay and bisexual men.
The ban was originally implemented at the start of the Aids crisis in the 1980s. Groups that handle blood donations had lobbied for the change, calling the previous ban 'medically unwarranted'. The FDA's decision follows a formal recommendation made in 2014.
Under the new policy, potential donors who admit to having sex with other men after 1977 will no longer be automatically barred. Instead, they will be treated similarly to other higher-risk groups, such as those who have had sex with prostitutes or used intravenous drugs in the past 12 months.
