Norway to make it easier for gay men to donate blood
The government has asked the Norwegian Directorate of Health to look at changing the donor rules to make it easier for gay men to give blood, Norway’s Minister of Health announced Tuesday.
Norway’s health directorate will look at the rules for blood donation and potentially make it easier for gay men to donate blood after being asked to look at potential tweaks by the Ministry of Health.
Under current regulations, gay men have to wait 12 months to give blood from when they were last sexually active. This essentially makes it impossible for gay men in relationships to donate blood. Additionally, The same rules do not apply to heterosexual couples.
“Spokespersons for LGBT groups have said that the current rules are unreasonable. We see that other countries, including Denmark, Sweden and Canada, have recently changed their regulations for this group,” Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol said in a statement.
“To maintain confidence in the blood donor system, we must have a set of rules based on professional recommendations and common sense. It must not be unnecessarily difficult for some groups to donate blood,” the health minister added.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health would collaborate with the country’s other health authority, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, to assess changes to the rules, which see gay men quarantined from giving blood after sexual contact.
Part of the assessment would include looking at how other countries have made it easier for gay men to donate blood. The deadline for the assessment is April next year.
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Norway’s health directorate will look at the rules for blood donation and potentially make it easier for gay men to donate blood after being asked to look at potential tweaks by the Ministry of Health.
Under current regulations, gay men have to wait 12 months to give blood from when they were last sexually active. This essentially makes it impossible for gay men in relationships to donate blood. Additionally, The same rules do not apply to heterosexual couples.
“Spokespersons for LGBT groups have said that the current rules are unreasonable. We see that other countries, including Denmark, Sweden and Canada, have recently changed their regulations for this group,” Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol said in a statement.
“To maintain confidence in the blood donor system, we must have a set of rules based on professional recommendations and common sense. It must not be unnecessarily difficult for some groups to donate blood,” the health minister added.
The Norwegian Directorate of Health would collaborate with the country’s other health authority, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health, to assess changes to the rules, which see gay men quarantined from giving blood after sexual contact.
Part of the assessment would include looking at how other countries have made it easier for gay men to donate blood. The deadline for the assessment is April next year.
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