The government has taken the decision that an individual assessment of blood donors must be made.
This means that it will be easier for men who have sex with men to leave blood.
– This was really about time, something we have been waiting for for a long time, says the doctor Marcus Olausson.
Today, the government has given the National Board of Health and Welfare the task of reviewing how to carry out an individual risk assessment of people who want to donate blood instead of being assessed according to sexual orientation or on a group level as before.
– This was really about time, something we have been waiting for for a long time, I think. The old rules have been out of date and we have known that for quite some time, says doctor Marcus Olausson.
“Very strange”
As the rules stand now, gay men have to completely abstain from sex for six months, even if they are in a steady relationship. While women and heterosexuals have as a rule that you are not allowed to change sex partners for three months.
– As a gay man, you have been able to be in a monogamous relationship and have been married for several years, but you are still not allowed to give blood unless you are celibate, which still appears very strange, says Marcus Olausson.
Continuous anemia
Blood is a fresh product that cannot be stored for any length of time and something that is needed to be able to provide care in Sweden. It constantly needs to be replenished and Marcus Olausson tells us that it is not unusual for there to be a shortage of blood.
– We have a continuous shortage of blood in Sweden. Blood is constantly used up and so we replenish with too little blood. And if you look statically, the number of blood donors is going down, so it needs to be replenished. And then this is a great measure to open up more people to donate blood, he says.