Premium Content:

Victorian government looks into gay blood donor bans

blood donation yay-13737168

The Victorian government will call on all Australian states to lift the ban on men who have sex with men from donating blood at today’s Council of Australian Governments (COAG) meeting.

- Advertisement -

Under the current rules men are prohibited from donating blood if they’ve had sex with another man within the last 12 months. The ban is one of several hundred reasons people are turned away from donating blood.

The restriction was introduced when there was concern that gay men who might have recently contracted HIV could unknowingly pass on the virus. Critics however have labeled the restriction outdated saying it does not take into account new technological developments in detecting HIV.

There are no restrictions for heterosexual people who have multiple sexual partners, neither is there any restriction on gay women donating blood.

Victorian Health Minister Jill Hennessy told Buzzfeed Australia that the policy was outdated.

“This policy doesn’t align with what we now know about how HIV is transmitted – it’s discriminatory and it’s outdated,” Hennessy said.

The Minister said the public had moved on from the HIV fear of the 1980’s and had developed a much better undertstanding of how HIV was transmitted.

A number of reviews have been conducted in recent years with some recommending a reduction in the abstinence period, but these have been rejected by Therapeutic Goods Administration.

OIP Staff

Latest

PrideFEST: Queer Prom celebrates all things bright, bold and beautiful

Queer Prom promises a world of colourful camp and glittery glitz especially made for LGBTQIA+ young folks here in WA.

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."

Chappell Roan debuts sapphic country track ‘The Giver’ on ‘SNL’

Chappell Roan's trajectory to superstardom is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time.

Newsletter

Don't miss

PrideFEST: Queer Prom celebrates all things bright, bold and beautiful

Queer Prom promises a world of colourful camp and glittery glitz especially made for LGBTQIA+ young folks here in WA.

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."

Chappell Roan debuts sapphic country track ‘The Giver’ on ‘SNL’

Chappell Roan's trajectory to superstardom is unlike anything we’ve seen in a very long time.

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz shares she’s gay, endorses Kamala Harris

Actor Chloë Grace Moretz has shared she is a lesbian, while encouraging Americans to get out and vote this week.
Old Lira. Delicious roman sourdough pizza since 2013.

PrideFEST: Queer Prom celebrates all things bright, bold and beautiful

Queer Prom promises a world of colourful camp and glittery glitz especially made for LGBTQIA+ young folks here in WA.

Callout for Transgender Day of Remembrance speakers and performers

Transgender Day of Remembrance is coming up later this month, an important opportunity to honour trans and gender diverse lives.

Review | ‘The Moogai’ exposes horror of intergenerational trauma

“The Stolen Generation is such a massive wound in the psyche of Australia, but it is often thought of as something in the past."