Since the 1980s, advances in medicine have also meant that people infected with the virus, will no longer go on to develop AIDS. HIV has become a chronic, manageable condition, as opposed to the death sentence it once was.

The social attitudes towards HIV have changed massively also, with many campaigns today promoting the fact that if a person takes their medication daily, then the virus can be suppressed to levels that make it untransmissible.

In short, a HIV positive person, with undetectable levels of virus in their blood CANNOT transmit it to another person. Also, with the availability of PrEP (Pre Exposure Prophylaxis) here in Wales, people can protect themselves even further from infection.

PrEP blocks the virus from infecting special CD4+ immune cells in the body, stopping a person from becoming infected.

So, returning to the subject at hand, why do ‘men-who-have-sex-with-men’ exclusively, have to abstain from sexual activity for three months before donating blood?

Well, the answer to that is simple. The law around gay/bisexual men donating blood is based on outdated science.

Yes, it is true that the three month window represents the period of time between a person being infected with HIV and the virus being detectable in their blood, however, as we have highlighted earlier in this article, HIV can infect ANYONE yet only gay/bisexual men are subjected to this law.

In a truly equal society based on absolute scientific evidence, everyone should have to abstain from sexual activity for three months before donating blood, given the knowledge on HIV.

The fact that this is not the case does beg the question that, in the light of modern scientific evidence, the law is demonstrably discriminatory?

We believe this to be the case. As two of our GMBWSW Shout! committee members, Arron Bevan-John and myself have started a campaign to have the law changed here in Wales, so that gay men do not have to face unnecessary obstacles should they wish to donate blood.

The campaign is titled ‘Blood Without Bias Cymru’ and is currently running a petition for debate in the Senedd or Welsh Parliament later this year.

Here's a link to a petition that myself and @ArronGMB have been running through @GMBShoutWSW. Please sign it and see if we can get this changed, in Wales initially and then the rest of the UK.#DonationDiscrimination #Gay #Bisexual #BloodDonation https://t.co/p3UfCzIe4l

— Alex GMB (@AlexBE_GMB) May 3, 2020

If you wish to help with this campaign there is a petition available online, at the Welsh Government website.

Even though Wales takes its advice from SaBTO, we can still ask @WelshGovernment to recognise the discrimination of MSM here in Wales and put pressure on Westminster to make those changes. https://t.co/B3X9zgsDhu @MarkDrakeford @vaughangething

— Blood Without Bias Cymru (@BloodBiasCymru) May 3, 2020

Please follow the campaign, sign the petition and change the law for good here in Wales.

Diolch!

Alex Evans
Member and Activist
GMB Wales & South West

 

 

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