In England, Wales and Scotland, significantly more gay and bisexual men will be allowed to donate blood in the future. The new rules, which the British government announced a few months ago, went into effect on Monday.
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So far, men in the UK are not allowed to donate blood if they have had sex with another man within the three months before. This rule should no longer apply in the future. Instead, it should only be decisive whether a person has had changing sexual partners or a steady relationship within three months.
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In Germany, gay and bisexual men are only allowed to donate blood if they have not had sex with another man within a year. The German Aidshilfe criticizes this regulation as discriminatory because it practically excludes most homosexual and bisexual men from donating blood.
According to a media report, this regulation could soon change in Germany as well. Accordingly, the “Blood Working Group” of the Paul Ehrlich Institute (PEI), the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) and the Federal Ministry of Health have drawn up new regulations.
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According to these rules, homosexual men are also allowed to donate blood in Germany if they have not had sex four months beforehand – or with the same partner within their relationship.
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