Australia has approved a landmark rule change on blood donation, safely paving the way for queer men and transgender people in long-term monogamous relationships to donate.

The Australian Red Cross Lifeblood will now ask the same assessment questions for all blood and platelet donations, regardless of gender or sexuality. This means restrictions will no longer be in place for specific identities, making the donation process more equal and stigma-free.

This change is part of ongoing work to make donations more inclusive while ensuring blood recipients remain safe. The country is now expecting up to 20,000 additional blood donations each year, with many LGBTQ+ people able to donate for the first time.

Previously, gay and bisexual men and transgender people were not eligible to donate blood in Australia if they had had sex with anyone in the past three months. This was due to outdated restrictions introduced during the HIV pandemic in the 1980s.

This set of rules has been criticised for its stigmatised view of the LGBTQ+ community and HIV positive people in the past.

Lifeblood Chief Executive Officer Stephen Cornelissen has said that: “This is something we’ve been researching and working on for some time together with governments, LGBTQIA+ advocacy groups and the broader community, and we’re excited to be welcoming many more new donors into our centres to donate blood and platelets from today.”

“We know previous rules have been difficult for people in the LGBTQ+ community, so we’d like to thank them for their support during this journey towards a more inclusive donation experience,” he said.

Changes came specifically after most wait times for plasma donations were removed nationwide in July 2025, allowing even more donations, and this is another step towards further inclusion of the queer community.

The public and social media response has been positive, with many people commenting that the change has been a long time coming and are baffled that it took so long to legalise altogether.