Petition Allow Gay Men to Donate Blood Freely

Currently, gay men are only allowed to donate blood if they have abstained from anal and oral sex for at least 12 months- even if a condom was used in either circumstance.

Blood stocks are low, and turning away willing donors because of their sexual orientation defies logic and deprives those in desperate need of transfusions. All donated blood is rigorously tested, and therefore there is no obvious rationale for this restriction.

This rule also fuels the dangerous myth that HIV is limited to the homosexual community.

We believe that men who have had sexual relations with men should be allowed to freely donate their blood, subject to the non-discriminatory standards set out to protect donors.