Blood: LGBT People

(asked on 9th June 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to allow homosexual and bisexual men to participate in donating antibodies to help in the response to the covid-19 outbreak.


Answered by
Helen Whately Portrait
Helen Whately
Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
This question was answered on 18th June 2020

All men must wait three months after having sexual contact with another man before donating blood or blood products. This deferral is based on expert advice from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs.

We recognise that people want to be considered as individuals as much as possible. Separately to the convalescent plasma trial, NHS Blood and Transplant is already working collaboratively with LGBT+ groups on blood donation, through the FAIR (For Assessment of Individualised Risk) steering group. The FAIR group is using an evidence-based approach to explore if a more individualised blood donation risk assessment can be safely and practically introduced, while ensuring the safe supply of blood and blood products to patients. The work of FAIR has been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but it is progressing and the group plans to submit a report before the end of the year. Whether or not any recommended changes to the donor deferral will apply to the convalescent plasma trials is to be confirmed.

Reticulating Splines