Current Version
| Region | Ireland |
| Issue | Blood donations by MSMs |
| Status | Banned (indefinite deferral) |
| Start Date | Nov 7, 2011 |
| End Date | Jan 14, 2017 |
| Description | The Irish Blood Transfusion Service bans blood from men who have sex with men. Their policy states: "In order to assure the continued safety of the blood supply, we currently ask those people who may have a particularly high risk of carrying blood-borne viruses not to give blood. This includes men who have ever had sex with another man / men." |
| Sources | https://www.giveblood.ie/can-i-give-blood/keeping-blood-safe/msm/ |
Revision History (3)
Revision by beeurd
| Old Value | New Value (Current) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sources | http://www.giveblood.ie/Become_a_Donor/Keeping_Blood_Safe/Safety/MSM.html | https://www.giveblood.ie/can-i-give-blood/keeping-blood-safe/msm/ |
Show Difference | ||
Revision by beeurd
| Old Value | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| End Date | (NONE) | Jan 14, 2017 |
Revision by danlev
| Old Value (Original) | New Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Description | The Irish Blood Transfusion Service bans blood from men who have sex with men. Their policy states: "In order to assure the continued safety of the blood supply, we currently ask those people who may have a particularly high risk of carrying blood-borne viruses not to give blood. This includes men who have ever had sex with another man / men." | |
Show Difference | ||
Reports (20)
- Sources are invalid or broken "link doesn't work
"
- Status is not correct "Ireland abolished the lifelong deferral period. Instead, a 12-month deferral period is now in place.
https://www.hivireland.ie/policy-news-and-media/our-policy-work/blood-donations-deferral-policy/"
- Status is not correct
- Note field is incorrect "Blood donation is legal, however the timeframe is different for MSMs than for others, with a 1 year abstinence rule applying to MSMs only."
- Status is not correct "link is to superseded page - Irish blood transfusion site where broken link diverts to clarifies that the lifetime ban has been altered and that now a 12 month deferral applies in the case of MSM. "
- Status is not correct "a man whose last sexual contact with another man was more than 12 months ago will be eligible to donate if he meets the other donor selection criteria. A man who has had oral or anal sex with another man in the past 12 months will still not be eligible to donate, even if he used a condom or pre or post exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP). People who take medication to prevent HIV infection i.e. pre or post exposure prophylaxis (PrEP/PEP) will be deferred from donating for 12 months thereafter. This is because the use of PrEP or PEP may interfere with testing for HIV by delaying seroconversion or giving unclear results in a positive donor. "
- Newer law has been passed "See: https://www.giveblood.ie/can-i-give-blood/keeping-blood-safe/msm/"
- Newer law has been passed "It is now legal. However 12 month deferral on blood, if male to male sex."
- Newer law has been passed "Sources: https://www.thejournal.ie/gay-men-blood-ban-lifted-ireland-3188949-Jan2017/
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/blood-donation-ban-lifted-for-men-who-have-had-sex-with-men-1.2938682"
- Status is not correct
- Status is not correct "The ban was not lifted, it was modified to appear more palatable. Gay men may now donate blood only if they have not been "sexually active" in the prior 12 month period."
- Status is not correct
- Newer law has been passed "Now a One Year Deferral - https://www.giveblood.ie/Become_a_Donor/Keeping_Blood_Safe/Safety/MSM.html"
- Status is not correct "Status changed in 2017.
News story: http://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/ireland/irish-blood-transfusion-service-lifts-ban-on-gay-men-donating-blood-772611.html
Official blood transfusion service FAQ: https://www.giveblood.ie/Become_a_Donor/Give_Blood/FAQs/FAQS_2017.pdf"
- Status is not correct "There is a ban of 1 year after having anal sex with a man. There is not an indefinite ban"
- Newer law has been passed "On 27 June 2016, Minister for Health Simon Harris announced that he was accepting the recommendation of the IBTS and that the life ban would be removed in favour of a one-year deferral instead.
In October 2016, it was announced that the lifetime blood ban would be replaced with a one-year deferral beginning on 16 January 2017."
- Status is not correct "The Blood Ban for MSM to have a lifetime ban has been lifted. There is however a 12 month deferral period for MSM to donate. "
- Status is not correct "Lifetime ban has been lifted https://www.google.ie/amp/www.thejournal.ie/gay-men-blood-ban-lifted-ireland-3188949-Jan2017/%3Famp%3D1?client=safari"
- Status is not correct "1 year deferral period as of January 2017"
- Date is incorrect