France to lift ban on blood donation from gay men

France has announced that it is to lift a ban on blood donations from gay men which was introduced in the 1980s to prevent the spread of Aids, The Telegraph reports.

The ban has been in place in France since 1983, and it has long been criticised by rights groups as outdated and discriminatory.

"Giving blood is an act of generosity, of civic responsibility, and the donor's sexual orientation cannot be a condition," the paper reports Marisol Touraine, the French health minister, saying in Paris.

"While respecting patient safety, today we are lifting a taboo," she said.

Touraine said the lifting of the ban, a presidential campaign pledge by Francois Hollande, will be introduced “in stages” starting next year.

The Telegraph added that initially, “total blood” donations – including both cells and plasma – will only be open to men who have not been sexually active with other men for 12 months prior to giving blood and that potential donors would be asked to fill in a questionnaire beforehand.

“At the same time, partial donations – plasma only – will be opened to men who have had sexual relations in the previous four months with only one male partner. Their donation will be placed in quarantine for two and a half months to ensure it is harmless,” Touraine added.

Health authorities will conduct a study on new donors and if they conclude that there is no risk, the rules will approach those applied to other donor groups in 2017, said the ministry.

In other countries with similar exclusionary provisions for potential donors, including Australia, Britain, Japan and Sweden, and Malta, rights groups criticise the measures as discriminatory.

France took a draconian line on donations from gay men following the notorious “tainted blood” scandal of 1991 and allegations that France’s blood transfusion centre had knowingly distributed blood products contaminated with HIV to haemophiliacs in 1984 and 1985.