Survey finds 75% of Gay and Bisexual Men willing to Donate Blood

January 29, 2010

A dating website has found that about three quarters of gay and bisexual men in the UK would donate blood if allowed.

Mancentral.com claims to have surveyed 3.667 of its members on the issue and found that 77 percent of gay and bisexual men are willing to up the blood supply by donating their own blood. Twenty-three percent of participants in the survey refused due to a fear of needles and previous blood transfusions.

A ban in the UK prevents gay and bisexual men from donating blood for life because of the risk of HIV. Approximately 1 in 20 gay men carry the disease, with the rate soaring to an astonishing one in eight in Brighton.

The website estimates that should the ban be lifted, it could lead to an additional 2.3 million pool of donors. Last year, 1.6 million units of blood were collected.

“Clearly this is an important issue for many gay and bisexual men,” said Yusef Azad, director of policy and campaigns at National AIDS Trust. NAT has been working hard to engage the relevant authorities on this issue and secured a review of the current ban.

"We look forward to the results of this review later this year and are hopeful that an alternative to the life-long ban on men who have sex with men can be found."

A review as to whether the ban should remain in place is currently underway by the government.

Others excluded from donating blood include those who have ever had syphilis, hepatitis B or C, sex workers, and intravenous drug users.

Sweden removed its lifetime ban on gay men from donating blood last year.
 

Image Source: www.prometheus.med.utah.edu