Allow gay men to donate blood

Dear public,

Under current rules, gay men (who have participated in sex with another man, even with adequate protection) are not allowed to donate blood to the national blood service, purely on the basis of sexuality. They are not given individual consideration: they are simply banned from EVER donating blood.

Ask the national blood service and they claim this is for health purposes. Gay sex, as long as proper protection is used, does not carry a more significant risk of infection.

While I am in agreement that HIV positive men or men that have had sex with a HIV positive man should not donate blood, excluding gay men purely on the basis of their sexual preferences is wrong.

This petition calls for the national blood service to remove the ban on donations from gay men, and to give the same consideration to them that they would give to any other individual.

The blood of gay men is no different from that of their heterosexual counterparts. By signing this petition, you indicate your support for that blood to be treated equally, and for gay men to have the same donation rights as heterosexual men.