Introduktion
This morning came the news from Britain's health secretary that many have been waiting for: The longstanding ban on gay men donating blood will be lifted from next summer, on the condition that they are in a long-term relationship.

The decision came after studies done at Oxford University regarding the risk of HIV infection from men who have sex with other men (MSM).

The UK is just one of several countries that are easing the restrictions, but despite all the research, there are still countries that stick to the old-fashioned rules, for example, Sweden.

Under the current rules, established in 1982, during the Aids/HIV-epidemic, all gay men must abstain from sex for three months before donating.

This rule was set when HIV was most common among homosexual men due to lack of information and knowledge about the disease. Since then, prejudices have remained that this is also the case today.

Utdrag
These studies from Harvard are done mainly for two reasons: A large opposition to the homophobic donation laws has actively debated to get a change.

There is also a shortage of donors and hospitals need to postpone operations due to a lack of blood.

Matt Hancock, health secretary in The UK comments the new law: “This landmark change to blood donation is safe and it will allow many more people, who have previously been excluded by donor selection criteria, to take the opportunity to help save lives,” (NY-times, 2020/12/14).

The change is important not only for UK healthcare but also for those who have been discriminated against by the previous laws.

It is a fundamental shift toward recognizing individuals by letting everyone do an act of kindness, despite their sexuality.

The British government has received diplomas from various human rights organizations and grace from LGBTQ+ citizens for reforming their homophobic laws.

While several countries are easing their restrictions, there are still those who adhere to these old laws.

The Swedish Ministry of Health says that the decision is based on their scientific studies that it would increase the amount of HIV blood.