Petition Retain the ban on gay blood donation

We, the undersigned, believe that the ban on gay blood donors should remain. This is not an equalities issue. It is about the safety of the NHS blood supplies. With men who have sex with men being statistically more likely to catch HIV, it seems reasonable that, as with other high-risk groups such as those from countries where HIV infection rates are high, men who have sex with men should be stopped from donating.

This is not to say that the majority of gay people have HIV. Nor is it an attack on homosexual men. It is important that all people enjoy the same human rights, regardless of sexuality. However, giving blood is not a right, and many countries which have fantastic records on gay rights uphold such bans.

It has recently come to light that the government plans to allow gay men to donate blood after abstaining from sex for 10yrs. This should be re-considered, as a blanket ban is much safer than going into specific details about peoples' sex lives.