英將解除男同性戀者獻血禁令

Gay men will be able to give blood as Government restrictions are set to be lifted, it emerged today。

A lifetime ban was put in place in the UK in the 1980s as a response to the spread of Aids and HIV. But politicians are expected to lift the restrictions in light of recent studies。

Earlier this year experts from the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto) completed a review on the ban. They recommended lifting the restrictions, but only for gay men who have not had sex for a decade。

Men who have had sex with another man in the past 12 months, with or without a condom, will still not be eligible to donate blood, the DoH said。

A survey of homosexual men by the organizers of the UK's biggest gay pride parade suggested 95 percent of gay men would be willing to donate blood。

Today’s announcement was welcomed by human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, but he said it fell short of lifting the ban on gay men who always use condoms。

The activist who launched the first campaign against the lifetime ban on gay and bisexual blood donors in 1991 added: "Most gay and bisexual men do not have HIV and will never have HIV. If they always have safe sex, have only one partner and test HIV negative, their blood is safe to donate. "

The change will be implemented by both NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) in England and North Wales and the Blood Services of Scotland and Wales。據英國《每日電訊報》9月8報道，今日(9月8日)傳出消息稱，英政府將對同性戀者獻血實施寬鬆政策。

爲防止艾滋病病毒擴散，英國於上世紀80年代開始實施同性戀終身不可獻血的禁令。但是，據最近的研究顯示，當局有望解除這一禁令。

今年年初，英國血液、組織與器官安全諮詢委員會的專家們完成了對該禁令進行的評估。他們建議取消這一禁令，但是，前提是同性戀者在10年內沒有發生過性行爲。

英國衛生部表示，只要與同性發生性行爲不超過一年的，則無論是否使用安全措施，都不允許獻血。

由英國最大的同志驕傲遊行的組織者進行的一項關於同性戀的調查顯示，95%的同性戀都願意獻血。

人權活動家彼得•塔切爾對今日(9月8日)取消同性戀終身禁止獻血的公告表示歡迎，但是他認爲，美中不足的是，那些一直使用安全套的同性戀還不能獻血。

這位在1991年首次發動反對終身禁止同性戀和雙性戀者獻血活動的積極分子補充說：“大多數同性戀和雙性戀沒有得艾滋，也不會得艾滋。如果他們的性行爲安全，且只有一位伴侶，HIV檢測結果又爲陰性，他們獻的血就是安全的。”

英國與北愛爾蘭國民醫療系統的血液和移植部門以及蘇格蘭和威爾士的血液服務局將落實這項更改後的措施。