Thread by @Openly

🩸 Many countries have banned gay and bisexual men from giving blood since the 1980s.

🏳️‍🌈 But attitudes and rules have changed over the past few years.

👇 For #WorldBloodDonorDay, we look at the history of the laws and which countries are making progress. 🧵

🔴 Why do blood donation bans exist in the first place?

🌍 Many countries introduced controls during the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.

🇺🇸 The first cases of AIDS were reported in 1981 among gay men in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

⭕️ By the end of the year, there were 337 reported cases of what was then known as a “gay-related immune deficiency”.

130 people had died.

🌍 Four years later, there was at least one reported AIDS case in every region of the world.

🚫 Rules were put in place when infected blood, much of which was donated by drug users and prisoners, contaminated supplies and put recipients at risk of infection.

⏰ Some countries had total bans, while others required abstention from sex for a certain period.

🔴 How has science made it safer to donate blood?

🔬 The technology used to check blood for potential issues has improved.

🔎 Donations are systematically screened for viruses such as HIV and hepatitis B and C.

👍The treatment for HIV/AIDS also makes it possible to give blood.

💊 In 2012, the U.S. approved PrEP – a daily pill that reduces the chance of getting HIV from sex by 99%.

📉 Almost 80 countries followed suit and infection rates have fallen in those places.

❌ HIV drugs now suppress the virus too, so it can’t be passed on.

🩺 Antiretroviral treatments also mean that people living with HIV/AIDS can live long healthy lives.

But despite the advances in prevention and treatment, many countries still uphold blood bans - even though the science suggests it can be done safely. 👇

🏳️‍🌈 LGBTQ+ campaigners have decried bans and abstinence periods as discriminatory.

🩸 The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic also created pressure to drop sexuality-based rules, as the cancellation of blood drives led to a drop in supplies.

🔴 So, which countries have changed their rules recently?

In the past couple of years, countries like 🇫🇷 France, 🇬🇷 Greece and 🇮🇱 Israel have lifted their bans.

Other nations such as 🇺🇸 the U.S. and 🇳🇿 New Zealand have cut their waiting period.
bit.ly/3NHB0u5

🗓 In the past two months, 🇨🇦 Canada and 🇦🇹 Austria have completely scrapped restrictions.

🇧🇪 While Belgium and 🇮🇪Ireland have relaxed their waiting period.

🇸🇮 Finally, countries like Slovenia have introduced individual risk-based assessments using questionnaires.

🌍 What are the rules around donating blood in your country?

👇 Tell us below! #BloodDonationDay #WorldBloodDonorDay2022