China Lifts 14-Year Blood Ban for Lesbian Donors

Photo: AsiaNews.it

This week in health news, China lifted a 14-year ban that prohibited lesbian women from donating blood. The effective date was July 1.

According to the Global Times:

The Whole Blood and Component Donor Selection Requirements, released by the Ministry of Health last year, amended the provision which had forbidden homosexuals from giving blood. The previous requirements dated from 1998. It now does not mention homosexual identity, only stating that men who are sexually active with other men are still barred from donating.

AIDS first made an appearance in China in the 1980s when an Argentinean tourist died from the disease while on holiday in the country, CNN reports. Like other areas of the world, the epidemic was shrouded in confusion which was exacerbated in China by official denials that it existed there.

Sexually-active men who have sex with other men are currently banned from donating blood in the United States, the United Kingdom and China.