In 2025, the IBTS Research Team conducted a survey to better understand blood donation motivations, barriers and perceptions among the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland. Below is a breakdown of their findings.

We received 483 survey responses from a broad cross-section of the LGBTQ+ community, spanning a range of ages, gender identities, sexual orientations and geographic regions. We would like to thank everyone who took the time to participate in and appreciate all your contributions. We especially enjoyed the discussions at the Dublin Pride IBTS stand, where we shared information about the survey and answered any questions.

Key Findings:

1. 90% of survey respondents said they would like to donate if they were eligible.
2. 66% of survey respondents believed they were not eligible to donate for at least one reason.
3. Barriers to donation included perceived ineligibility, medical reasons, fear of discrimination, lack of information and logistical challenges.
4. There was a desire for meaningful engagement between the LGBTQ+ community and the IBTS, particularly through LGBTQ+ media and community organisations.
5. A significant amount of misinformation, outdated information and confusion about current blood donation eligibility for LGBTQ+ people was reported.

The survey responses clearly highlighted a need for improved communication of recent donor eligibility changes directly impacting the LGBTQ+ community. These are summarised as follows:

2025: Permanent deferral for gonorrhoea was removed and changed to a four-month deferral instead.

2022: Introduction of Individual Donor Risk Assessment (IDRA):

• Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who are in a monogamous relationship longer than four months are eligible to donate.
• Following anal sex with a new partner or multiple partners, regardless of gender, an individual must wait 4 months before donating blood or platelets, even if a condom or other form of protection was used.
• A new sexual partner is someone you did not have sex with before, or a person with whom you resumed a sexual relationship in the past four months.
• The four-month deferral period is to ensure accurate detection of infections that can be passed on by blood transfusions. During this time, early-stage infections don’t always show up on testing, i.e. in the ‘window period’.

2021: All potential donors are welcome, including transgender and non-binary individuals. Any donor who identifies themself as transgender will need to have their eligibility to donate assessed by a doctor over the phone before attending a clinic.

2019: Removal of permanent deferral regarding previous residency in the UK.

Overall, we were delighted with the positive response to this work and thank you to everyone who took the time to engage with us. The information we have received will help to inform future work and allow us to develop a stronger relationship with the LGBTQ+ community. We look forward to sharing more findings in the future.

To find out more, check out the IBTS website or get in touch with their Research Team at [email protected].