Australias national blood donation service has announced a landmark policy change that will remove outdated and discriminatory rules against gay men that were put in place during the height of the HIV epidemic.Lifeblood, a branch of the Australian Red Cross, recently announced it will remove most sexual activity wait times for plasma donations. Related Canada celebrates Pride Month with 4 beautiful LGBTQ+ postage stamps One of the stamps celebrates a historic gay beach near Toronto where police once raided and arrested queer people. Under this world-leading plasma pathway, most people, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone who takes PrEP, will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria, a press release explained. Extensive research and modelling show that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change. Never Miss a Beat Subscribe to our newsletter to stay ahead of the latest LGBTQ+ political news and insights. Subscribe to our Newsletter today Lifeblood Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jo Pink estimated the change will bring in 24,000 more donors and result in 95,000 more donations per year. This is especially significant because plasma has become the most-needed donation type, Pink said. For blood donations, Lifeblood is moving to ask all donors the same questions about sexual history, rather than specifically targeting gay and bisexual men and trans women to ask if they have had sex with a man in the past three months. The new policy will allow blood donations from most people in a monogamous sexual relationship of six or more months. Additionally, all potential donors, no matter their gender, will now be asked if they have had anal sex with new or multiple partners in the last three months. Those who have not will be eligible to donate. Lifeblood lauded its complimentary policies that allow most people ineligible to donate blood to still donate plasma instead. Unlike other countries with gender-neutral assessments, most people unable to donate blood under the updated gender-neutral rules including because they are taking PrEP will still be able to donate plasma in Australia without a wait time, the press release explained.Australias Let Us Give campaign, established to end the anti-LGBTQ+ blood ban, celebrated the changes. Australian lives will be saved by this overdue and important decision, spokesperson Rodney Croone told The Guardian.A researcher with Let Us Give, Dr. Sharon Dane, called the updates a big step forward but said there is still room to grow. Sexual monogamy for six months is stricter than other countries that have moved to gender neutral policies, Dane explained (the U.K., Canada, and the U.S. all require only three months). We hope that after a short period of assessment, Australias whole blood donor policy will change to be in keeping with best-practice nations, Dane said.In 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially adopted its own new guidelines that loosened restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men (MSM). The new guidelines mostly benefited monogamous men who arent taking any HIV treatment or HIV prevention medications.The change instituted a three-month pre-donation celibacy period for anyone who has had sex with a new sexual partner, more than one sexual partner, or anal sex. This is to reduce the likelihood of donations by people with new or recent HIV infections, the FDA said. Blood donation organizations test all donated blood for transfusion-transmitted infections, including HIV, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C. The guidelines also require a three-month pre-donation abstinence period for people who have anal sex or take pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medication and a two-year abstinence period for users of injectible PrEP. PrEP can mask the presence of HIV in blood. The FDA clarified, however, that folks should not stop taking necessary medications in order to donate blood. Subscribe to theLGBTQ Nation newsletterand be the first to know about the latest headlines shaping LGBTQ+ communities worldwide.