Australia Ends Blood Donation Ban for Gay Men
- admin928749
- 1 day ago
- 2 min read
Big news for LGBTQIA+ rights and healthcare in Australia — the country is officially lifting its long-standing restrictions on blood and plasma donations from sexually active gay and bisexual men.
From July 14, the rules that once banned many gay, bisexual, and transgender people from donating will start to change — with plasma donations leading the way.
So, what’s changing?
Until now, men and transgender women who had sex with men in the previous three months were barred from donating blood or plasma — part of rules introduced decades ago to reduce the risk of HIV transmission. Similar restrictions also applied to sex workers and women who had sex with bisexual men.
But those rules are being scrapped — and Australia is set to become the first country in the world to remove all sexual activity-based restrictions for plasma donation, according to Lifeblood.
What does this mean?
Plasma donations: Anyone, regardless of sexuality or gender, can donate even if they’ve had recent sexual activity, provided they meet the new safety guidelines.
Blood donations: The eligibility criteria will change in 2026, moving away from focusing on sexual orientation and instead asking about specific risk behaviours.
New screening questions will now ask all donors (not just men) if they’ve had anal sex with new or multiple partners in the past 3 months.
If yes: They’ll need to wait three months to donate blood — but can still donate plasma.
People on PrEP (HIV prevention medication) will also be eligible to donate plasma (but not blood yet).
People with HIV or with a partner who has HIV are still ineligible for both blood and plasma donations.
Why now?
The shift comes after research by Lifeblood and the Kirby Institute at UNSW confirmed that these changes won’t impact the safety of Australia’s blood and plasma supply.
That’s because plasma is treated through a process called pathogen inactivation, which filters out viruses and bacteria, reducing infection risk to patients.
With global demand for plasma at an all-time high — and rising — Lifeblood hopes this move will encourage up to 625,000 new eligible donors.
“Blood safety is and always will be our top priority,” said Lifeblood’s Chief Medical Officer Jo Pink.“But we know these rules have been incredibly difficult and have contributed to stigma in the LGBTQIA+ community.”
The decision has been widely welcomed by health and equality advocates.
“This change unlocks thousands of life-saving plasma donations,” said Dash Heath-Paynter, CEO of Health Equity Matters.
So if you’ve ever wanted to donate and were told you couldn’t — from July 14, that might finally change.
Stay tuned with Aus News Lanka – the leading platform for news for Australians.
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