But now Vanessa Raju, SANBS Communications Manager, confirmed that a new non-discriminatory policy had been put in place that favours people in monogamous relationships, regardless of their sexuality. She said anyone who has a new sexual partner will not be allowed to donate blood for six months, and that anyone who has multiple partners will not be allowed to donate blood. Both criteria are irrespective of a person’s sexual orientation.
“People who are in monogamous male same-sex relationships [for more than six months] can now donate.” She explained that the previous policy had been put in place on the basis of international statistics and trends. “It took us a while because we didn’t have local facts that warranted changing our policy, although we knew South Africa was different from other countries in terms of risk of HIV,” said Raju.
“The policy wasn’t meant to be discriminatory, but it was seen as such,” she admitted. “We then worked closely with the Department of Health and other organisations to reassess the situation.”
June is Blood Donor Month, with June 14th being World Blood Donor Day.
