(Bigstock photo)
The Australian Red Cross Blood Service (Lifeblood) has announced it will lift its ban on sexually active LGBTQ people from donating blood.
The Star Observer, an Australian LGBTQ newspaper, on June 18 reported “gay and bisexual men and transgender women” were previously not “able to donate plasma if they had been sexually active with men in the last three months.” The ban will end on July 14.
“Lifeblood has been working to make blood and plasma donation more inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible, whilst maintaining the safety of the blood supply,” said Lifeblood on Wednesday in a press release that announced the new policy.
“In the first of the rule changes, from Monday, July 14, 2025, Lifeblood will remove most sexual activity wait times for plasma donations,” it added. “Under this world-leading ‘plasma pathway,’ most people, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone who takes PrEP will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria. Extensive research and modeling show that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change.”
“Once implemented, all donors will be asked the same questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their gender or sexuality, and most people in a sexual relationship of six months or more with a single partner will be eligible to donate blood,” notes Lifeblood’s press release. “In addition, most people with new or multiple partners will also be able to donate blood if they have not had anal sex in the last three months. The change will bring an end to men being asked if they’ve had sex with another man.”
Lifeblood Chief Medical Officer Jo Pink said the new policy will allow 24,000 additional people to donate blood each year.
“We’re excited to be able to welcome more people from across the community into our donor centers from next month,” said Pink.
Let Us Give and other advocacy groups for years had urged Lifeblood to allow LGBTQ people to donate blood without restrictions.
“We thank the TGA (Therapeutic Goods Administration) and Lifeblood for removing a ban that limited the supply of safe whole blood and stigmatized gay men, and bisexual men and trans women who have sex with men, as a threat to public health,” said Let Us Give spokesperson Rodney Croome.
The National LGBT Media Association represents 13 legacy publications in major markets across the country with a collective readership of more than 400K in print and more than 1 million + online. Learn more here: NationalLGBTMediaAssociation.com.
