Photo courtesy of UAB Hospital
The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) has lessened restrictions on blood donation for men who have sex with men (MSM) but placed a new restriction on heterosexual donors.
Now, all South Africans are prohibited from donating blood unless they have been celibate or in a monogamous sexual relationship for at least 6 months.
So any individual with a new sexual partner or multiple partners will not be allowed to donate blood, regardless of sexual orientation.
South Africa’s former policy was that MSM could only donate blood if they had been celibate for 6 months or longer. But heterosexual individuals who engaged in risky or casual sex were still allowed to donate.
This was because MSM were considered at high risk of contracting HIV. However, the South African HIV epidemic is primarily a heterosexual one, so the SANBS’s policy was thought by many to be discriminatory.
With the new policy, the question intended to identify MSM has been removed from the blood donor questionnaire. The new questionnaire addresses sexual risk in general, and any sexual act or contact with a new partner or partners during the preceding 6 months will be deemed a risk to the safety of the blood supply.
“It took us a while [to make this decision] because we didn’t have local facts that warranted changing our policy, although we knew South Africa was different from other countries in terms of risk of HIV,” said Vanessa Raju, SANBS Communications Manager.
“The policy wasn’t meant to be discriminatory, but it was seen as such. We then worked closely with the Department of Health and other organizations to reassess the situation.”
Blood donation policies perceived as discriminatory against MSM are in place in many countries.
In the US and Northern Ireland, for example, MSM are banned from donating blood for life. Canada lifted its lifetime ban last year but still requires that MSM be celibate for 5 years before donating.
Other countries have recently adopted similar policies. In England, Scotland, and Wales, MSM must be celibate for 12 months prior to donating blood.
