Petition Equal Rights for Same Sex Blood Donors to those of Hetrosexual Relationships

We the undersigned believe that the current blanket ban on MSM (Men who have had Sex with Men) donors is discriminatory, homophobic and is based on out-dated prejudice rather than scientific evidence and that many gay and bisexual men would be low risk blood donors and remain an untapped resource that could be used to save lives. We call on the Government to remove the lifetime ban on MSM blood donors, to bring it in line with the rights of those in of hetrosexual orientation, without 'un-realistic criteria - for example a 12 month period of abstinence, and to introduce new evidence-based criteria to assess the risk of individuals who wish to donate blood without a blanket ban on MSM donors, either permanently or for a deferral period.