“While we test all blood donations, even the very best testing can’t always pick up early infections,” the spokesperson said. “Now we have clear international evidence and precedents that point Australia in the direction it must go,” he said.īut a Red Cross Lifeblood spokesperson said the latest Australian data showed there was still a “much higher risk” of newly acquired HIV infections among men who have sex with men. Just Equal Australia’s spokesperson, Rodney Croome, said for decades LGBTQI+ Australians had found the ban “outdated, stigmatising and counterproductive”. That period was reduced by the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood from 12 months earlier this year. A number of other nations, including the Netherlands, Israel, Argentina, France and Germany, have abolished their ban on blood donations for particular groups since the pandemic began, or plan to do so soon.īut under Australian policy, gay men or trans women who have sex with men are unable to donate blood if their sexual abstinence period is less than three months.
