Campaigners have once again called for changes to be made to Ireland’s restrictive blood donation rules surrounding gay and bi men, and men who have sex with men. The renewed call comes after the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) was forced to import blood from Manchester last week due to a shortage of blood supply in Ireland. 

The UK has recently relaxed their rules around blood donation allowing men who have sex with men more ease in donating blood. Irish campaigners have criticised the need to import blood from Britain without addressing restrictions on Irish gay and bisexual men from donating blood.

The NHS Blood and Transplant changed its rules for eligibility on World Blood Donor day, allowing a more open approach to blood donation. In the UK, any individual who attends to give blood – regardless of gender – will be asked if they have had sex and, if so, about recent sexual behaviours.  

One hundred and fifteen units of Rh-negative blood groups – O negative, A negative, and B negative – were collected from the NHS Blood and Transplant in Manchester on Friday. The IBTS has not imported blood in bulk since the late 1990s. 

Back in January, The National LGBT Federation (NXF) called for a change to the blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men in Ireland. They are repeating this call, asking the IBTS to make their rules similar to the UK; they are asking for eligibility to be based solely on individual behaviour, and not on gender or sexual identity. 

Ireland imposes harsher restrictions on gay & bi men who wish to donate blood than most other European countries.

We repeat our call for blood donation to be based solely on individual behaviours, not gender/sexuality. #blood #BloodBan @Giveblood_ie @roinnslainte #Pride https://t.co/SWSh12PwOO

— NXF (@nxfie) June 30, 2021

Tomás Heneghan, who took a High Court action to compel the Government to change the restriction, said that it was “incredibly frustrating” to watch the issue play out. “I would imagine at least some of what is coming in would be from men who are taking up the opportunity for the first time. I think it is very likely to be blood from gay men.”

The IBTS has said that there is a serious shortage of blood in Ireland due to the pandemic. It said that a full risk assessment was carried out before importing the blood from the UK and said there was only “a remote risk” of transmitting infection by transfusing imported blood.

Asked about donor risk, the IBTS said: “The NHSBT has recently changed the way it assesses donor risk. The IBTS is currently undertaking a social behaviours review looking at our existing deferral practice across a number of areas, including men who have sex with men. 

“That process is ongoing and we hope to have it concluded in the autumn.  When we have recommendations to make to the IBTS Board on these risks we will do so and the decision will be made public.”