Blood donation open to homosexuals without conditions

A historic date to remember

It was a long-awaited formalization of the community of homosexual people and the associative sector campaigning for equal access to blood donations. Since March 16, 2022, anyone can donate blood, regardless of sexual orientation, including gay men who have sex with men.

This decision follows a decree of January 11. The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, then declared in his press release that “France is one of the first countries in the world to eliminate any notion of sexual orientation, while maintaining a very high level of blood safety.“. It is therefore a source of pride for the neurologist doctor to change the conditions of access to blood donations, because for him, it was a form of “discrimination against people based on their sexual orientation”.

Conditions that have changed since 1983

Since 1983, homosexual people could not donate blood. In July 2016, they were authorized to do so, but under special conditions. Indeed, men had to abstain from all sexual relations with other men for at least 12 months. In 2019, this period was reduced to four months. Today, the conditions are the same as for heterosexual people.

Each donor must complete a questionnaire, which has also evolved. It is no longer a question of knowing the gender of the donor’s sexual partner. The same applies to the interview prior to sampling with the healthcare professional. The required condition is the same for everyone: having had a single sexual partner during the last four months preceding the donation.

What are the contraindications to blood donation?

Blood donation can be postponed for any candidate who has taken preventive treatment:

• before exposure to HIV (AIDS virus): treatment for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP);
• after exposure to HIV: medicine for post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

Also, the list of medications leading to the postponement of blood donation has been updated.

The French Blood Establishment also points out that certain contraindications are also provided for and must be postponed, such as:

• a positive test for HIV, hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) or syphilis;
• have undergone surgery or a medical examination such as endoscopy in the four months preceding the donation;
• having had a rise in body temperature (fever) or having received antibiotic treatment in the 15 days preceding the blood donation;
• have a history of malaria;
• after performing dental treatment or scaling 7 days before donating blood;
• a woman who is pregnant or who gave birth less than 6 months ago;
• having been in contact with a sick and contagious person;
• having had a tattoo or after having had a piercing in the four months prior to the donation;
• having had sex with different or multiple partners in the last four months.