Austria Lifts Archaic Ban On Queer Men Donating Blood
May 24, 2022Austria on Friday lifted a de facto ban on gay, bisexual, and transgender people donating blood, “putting an end to discrimination from another age,” the health ministry announced.
Canada, Greece, France, Spain, Italy, Israel, Britain, and the United States have, in the last year or more, also changed or eased their rules for blood donations, along similar lines.
“If someone wants to help by making a donation, there is no reason why they should be prevented from doing so because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” Health Minister Johannes Rauch was quoted as saying in a statement.
The rule change, adopted on Friday, will come into force “this summer,” a government spokesman told AFP.
The EU nation's legislation has previously prohibited anyone who has had “risky sex” in the previous 12 months from giving blood.
Some organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, have used this legal framework to exclude gay, bisexual and transgender people, citing a risk of AIDS transmission, according to LGBTQ+ organizations.
According to Barrons, early this month, such organizations called for a more inclusive system, based on improvements in scientific data in recent years, arguing that these exclusions had become arbitrary and constituted discrimination.
The new amendment, made by the Green-Conservative coalition, excludes “any donor who has had more than three partners in the three months preceding the donation” as well as their partners, regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
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Greece Lifts Ban On Gay Men Donating Blood
Hungary Drops Ban On Gay And Bi Men Donating Blood
Brazil’s Supreme Court Lifts Restrictions On Gay And Bi Men Donating Blood
Canada Removes Ban On Blood Donations From Gay Men
France Ends Ban On Gay And Bisexual Male Blood Donors
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