#EndBloodBan

In Switzerland, a new criteria for blood donation was released to allow gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men to donate blood under the same rules as heterosexual people.

This updated criteria requires all potential donors, regardless of their sexual orientation, to undergo a four-month waiting period following their last sexual encounter with a new partner before donating blood. Blood donors also need to wait 12 months to donate if they have had sexual contact with more than two partners in the last four months.

Before the release of the new criteria, the Swiss government discriminated against men who have sex with men (MSM), including gay and bisexual men, by banning them from donating blood. Arising in the 1980s when HIV was still not manageable, the past policy discriminated against members of the LGBTQIA community who were assumed to be “carriers” of HIV by preventing them to donate their blood.

This isn’t the first change in the antiquated criteria. In 2017, MSM were actually already allowed to donate blood, though only those who abstained from sex for 12 months before donating.

The rules were updated again after the Swiss Transfusion SRC (Swiss Red Cross) pushed for medical authorities to revise their criteria for risk assessments surrounding sexual behaviors. The Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products (Swissmedic) eventually agreed to the proposed changes.