Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether NHS Blood and Transplant has made an assessment of the potential impact of the use of tanning injections more than (a) 12 months (b) three months prior to donating on blood safety.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safety of blood is of the upmost importance. Patients that receive blood donations can be particularly vulnerable to infections. In the United Kingdom, the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 mandate permanent deferral from blood donation for anyone with a history of non-prescribed intravenous or intramuscular drug use. The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 are available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/schedule/part/3/paragraph/2n3

This includes those in receipt of tanning injections, for any period prior to donation. NHS Blood and Transplant has provided guidance on blood safety by the Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC). JPAC guidance reflects the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 in the Addiction and Drug Abuse guideline and the Blood Safety Entry guideline, which are available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/ad001-addiction-and-drug-abuse

https://www.transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/bl008-blood-safety-entry

Injections can carry a risk of blood-borne illness. To preserve the safety of patients who receive blood donations, measures are taken to reduce the risk of transmitting blood-borne infections, including cleanliness and safety standards. However, as tanning injections are not well regulated, measures that would normally be used to prevent blood-borne infection cannot be assessed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, for what reason people who have used tanning injections are permanently unable to donate blood.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safety of blood is of the upmost importance. Patients that receive blood donations can be particularly vulnerable to infections. In the United Kingdom, the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 mandate permanent deferral from blood donation for anyone with a history of non-prescribed intravenous or intramuscular drug use. The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005 are available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/schedule/part/3/paragraph/2n3

This is also reflected in the Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services Professional Advisory Committee (JPAC) guidelines, the Addiction and Drug Abuse guideline and the Blood Safety Entry guideline, which are available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/ad001-addiction-and-drug-abuse

https://www.transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/bl008-blood-safety-entry

Injections can carry a risk of blood-borne illness. To preserve the safety of patients who receive blood donations, measures are taken to reduce the risk of transmitting blood-borne infections, including cleanliness and safety standards. However, as tanning injections are not well regulated, measures that would normally be used to prevent blood-borne infection cannot be assessed.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to review NHS communications to ensure that language on (a) pregnancy and (b) breast feeding reflects biological sexes.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

We are committed to working with NHS England to ensure health communications are as clear as possible and appropriately reflect sex as a protected characteristic in the Equality Act 2010. This includes communications about pregnancy and breast feeding.

In April, in its judgment in the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v. The Scottish Ministers, the Supreme Court announced that it had reached a unanimous decision that the terms ‘man’, ‘woman’, and ‘sex’ in the Equality Act 2010 refer to biological sex. We welcome the clarity this brings.

We recognise that there will be occasions when National Health Service providers want to specifically acknowledge patients with differing characteristics, including the transgender community. This may mean that trusts and providers decide to use additive language, for example “women and trans men”, to ensure health communications reach the largest audience.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has made an assessment of the potential impact of not referencing biological sexes in some maternity care guidance on the safeguarding of patients.

Answered by Karin Smyth - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)

The Department’s longstanding position is that health information should be as clear as possible and language should be used that appropriately reflects sex as defined in the Equality Act 2010.

National maternity guidance and key documents, such as the Three-Year Delivery Plan for Maternity and Neonatal Services, reference women throughout.

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the permanent exclusion of people who have used tanning injections is consistent with the current evidence base on the persistence of bloodborne infection risks.

Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)

The safety of blood is of the utmost importance. Donor exclusion policies are in place to maintain safety and are mandated in the Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005: The Blood Safety and Quality Regulations 2005, which are available at the following link:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2005/50/schedule/part/3/paragraph/2n3

Similarly to individuals with a history of Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, and HIV, those with a history of non-prescribed intravenous or intramuscular drug use are permanently deferred from donating blood.

The Joint United Kingdom (UK) Blood Transfusion and Tissue Transplantation Services’ Professional Advisory Committee produces guidance documents for UK blood services which outline the risks posed by tanning injections in the Addiction and Drug Abuse guideline and the Blood Safety Entry guideline, which are available, respectively, at the following two links:

https://transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/ad001-addiction-and-drug-abuse

https://www.transfusionguidelines.org/dsg/wb/guidelines/bl008-blood-safety-entry

Their Whole Blood and Component Donor Selection Guidelines, which includes the guidance relating to injectable tanning agents, were last updated on 18 July 2025.