Iceland opens blood donation to all under new rules

Everyone in Iceland will be allowed to donate blood from Tuesday, regardless of sex or sexual orientation, mbl.is reports. A new regulation from the Minister of Health will end discrimination against blood donors based on sexual orientation, origin or other personal status.

Health Minister Alma D. Möller called the change a long-awaited milestone. She said the aim was both to improve the safety of blood recipients and expand the pool of donors.

The regulation states that donors must not be treated differently on unreasonable grounds, including sex, sexual orientation or origin. It also sets criteria for risky sexual behaviour that apply to all donors. Such behaviour may result in a temporary deferral because of the risk of infectious diseases.

Whether a person can donate will therefore be determined through an individual risk assessment rather than by the group they belong to. More sensitive tests for blood-borne infections were introduced last year, and the Blood Bank is now adopting a new donor questionnaire based on individual risk assessment.

Þorbjörn Jónsson, chief physician at the Blood Bank, said the changes were an important step towards improving recipient safety and increasing the number of donors.