France is going to allow gay men to donate blood from 2016 as long as they have not had sex with another man during the preceding 12 months. See how this stacks up against the rest of the world.
Donating blood
7 Gay men in South Africa are now allowed to donate blood. Previously, men who had sex with men in the previous 6 months were banned from blood donation. The new rules align gay and straight people, and require only that blood donors are in a monogamous relationship.
Ban on ‘gay blood donation’ lifted
3 In many countries, there is either an outright ban on gay men donating blood, or there is a deferral period, where a man cannot donate blood if he has had sex with another male in the preceding 6 or 12 months. The reason for the ban, is that many studies have shown that gay men have a much higher prevalence of HIV and hepatitis than straight men. I was wondering if this policy is fair.