Photo by Михаило Јовановић
France is planning to lift its lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM), and the change is set to take effect next year.
French officials say that, beginning in Spring 2016, an MSM will be able to donate whole blood in France if he has not had sex with another man in the last 12
months.
An MSM will be allowed to donate plasma if he has been abstinent or had only 1 sexual partner in the last 4 months.
Experts will analyze the impact of this policy change for about a year. If there has been no increase in health risks, the policy may be relaxed further, and MSM donors may be treated the same as non-MSM donors.
Non-MSM individuals in France are deferred from donating blood if they have had more than 1 sexual partner in the last 4 months.
Studies recently conducted in Canada and the UK have suggested that lifting restrictions on MSM blood donors does not
increase the risk of sexually transmitted infections affecting the blood
supply.
France’s lifetime ban on MSM blood donation was enacted in 1983 in an attempt to counter the spread of HIV/AIDS.
Hundreds of people died in France in the 1980s after HIV-tainted blood was distributed by the French National Blood Transfusion Center. HIV-positive blood donations were exported as well, which led to hundreds of additional deaths in other countries.
Bans lifting worldwide
In lifting its lifetime ban on MSM blood donors, France is following the lead of other countries within and outside of Europe.
England, Scotland, Wales, Sweden, and the Netherlands have all lifted their bans on MSM blood donors and changed to a 12-month deferral period. Australia, Japan, and New Zealand also have 12-month deferral periods for MSM blood donors.
South Africa has a 6-month deferral period for MSMs, while Italy and Spain have no policy specific to MSM blood donors. All donors are screened for high-risk sexual practices, and deferrals are made accordingly.
The US and Canada are currently considering adopting a 12-month deferral policy for MSM blood donors. The lifetime ban is still in place in the US, but Canada has a 5-year deferral period for MSMs.
