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Every Australian wanting to give blood will be asked gender-neutral questions about their recent sexual activity in an overhaul of rules that had effectively banned many gay and bisexual men from becoming donors.
The changes, which come into effect on Monday, are designed to boost the nation’s donor pool while addressing a major source of stigma for LGBTQ people.
Previously, Lifeblood’s donor rules prevented gay and bisexual men, and transgender women, from donating blood if they had had sex with men in the previous three months.
The rule, which also banned sex workers and women who have sex with bisexual men, was designed to prohibit donations from people at higher risk of exposure to HIV.
The Therapeutic Goods Administration approved Lifeblood’s application to change the rule last year, after extensive risk modelling and screening research showed the overhaul would not affect the safety of Australia’s precious blood supply.
Gay and bisexual men have been eligible to donate plasma since July, so far enabling 10,000 donations from 3000 new donors.
“Under the updated rules, most people in long-term monogamous relationships will be able to donate blood, and many who remain ineligible will be able to donate plasma instead,” said Lifeblood chief executive Stephen Cornelissen.
“We hope many more people will feel welcomed in our donor centres from today and sign up to become blood donors.”
Yasmin Mowat, a research fellow at the University of NSW’s Kirby Institute who has tracked community attitudes towards donation, said the new questions about sexual activity might deter some people, but this number was small.
“Overall these changes are warranted … for equity reasons, and the scientific evidence,” she said.
Lifeblood expects the new donor rules will add 20,000 more donations to Australia’s blood supply every year. Australia requires about 33,000 donations of blood plasma and platelets every week.
Nick Rohrlach, the outgoing chief executive of Virgin Australia’s Velocity rewards program, will be one of the first newly eligible men lining up to donate on Monday.
Rohrlach grew up in a household where donating blood was a regular event. His mother Ronda worked as a phlebotomist at a blood donation centre in Whyalla, South Australia, while pregnant with him.
Making her 40th donation on Thursday at Sydney’s Lifeblood Town Hall donation centre, Ronda challenged her son – a self-described “points nerd” – to hit similar figures.
“I had forgotten that this silly rule existed, and then when Nicholas told me [it was changing], I said, ‘Oh, hallelujah, at last’,” Rohrlach said.
“If he can stick with it and keep donating blood, I’ll be very proud of him because he doesn’t like needles or doesn’t like blood very much.”
Rohrlach, who resigned from Virgin to start a family with his husband, Terry, said the prospect of fatherhood had made him think more deeply about giving back through blood donation.
“It’s normal for two guys to have a baby now; it’s normal to give blood,” he said. “It shouldn’t be so difficult, or special. It’s just normal.”
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