During National Blood Week (June 8 -14, 2015) the Terrence Higgins Trust (THT) is calling on the new government to undertake a fresh review into blood donor selection criteria.
THE UK’s largest sexual health and HIV charity supported the outcomes of the 2011 review on the grounds that the decision was based on the best scientific evidence available then, and the charity urged everybody to abide by the new regulations at the time.
Dr Shaun Griffin, Executive Director of External Affairs, Terrence Higgins’ Trust, said: “It would seem that at a time when the NHS is facing a much publicised challenge because of a lack of blood donors, with figures plummeting 40 per cent in the last decade, a wider review into all the current restrictions may be timely help to address this.
“There has been no review into the lifetime ban for people who have previously been involved in sex work or who have previously injected drugs. It is inequitable and illogical for former sex workers and former injecting drug users to be treated differently from others.
“Therefore there should be a review of all the current restrictions including the deferral period for men who have sex with men, so that we have the most appropriate restrictions based on the best available evidence. As with 2011 we will support any policy decisions that are based on the best available evidence.
“It may well be that some of the restrictions need to be retained, but we must ensure that it is still the appropriate restriction according to the evidence. A fresh, wider, review can guarantee this.”
The current regulatory decisions and restrictions are based on profiling the risks associated with behaviours to ensure a safe blood supply for those receiving blood transfusions.
THT would like to see the same regulations for all – but retains the stance that this can only realistically be attained when risks of HIV and sexually transmitted infection (STI) transmission are reduced to the same level as that of most heterosexuals.
The 12 month restriction of four years ago, means that men who have been sexually active with men, and women who had been sexually active with men who had also been sexually active with men, in the previous 12 months, would be unable to donate blood. This decision was based on the best available evidence at the time and as a result of higher risks of blood borne viruses within these groups.
The risks being that men who have sex with men in the UK are at far greater risk than any other population, per sexual encounter, of acquiring a variety of infections such as syphilis, hepatitis B and C and, most of all, HIV.
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