Belgium decreases deferral period for MSM blood donors to 4 months

From 1 July 2023, men who have sex with men (MSM) will be able to donate blood in Belgium after a four-month deferral period instead of the current 12 months. The Chamber commission on Health approved a bill on the matter on Tuesday. The text was supported by the federal majority parties and the far-left PTB-PVDA. N-VA (Flemish nationalists) and Vlaams Belang (Flemish far-right party) abstained.

For years, MSM were not allowed to donate blood in Belgium under the pretext of reducing the risk of patients becoming infected with blood-borne infectious diseases such as HIV. The rule was relaxed in 2017 as gay men were allowed to donate blood after a 12-month deferral period. The gay community has found this ground for exclusion discriminatory for years. The deferral period will now be shortened from twelve to four months.

On Tuesday, a number of Belgian parties wanted to go further and abolish the deferral period altogether. Hervé Rigot (PS, French-speaking socialists), the main proposer of the bill, pointed out that not all recommendations were unanimously positive and that therefore a step-by-step approach was chosen, whereby the period is shortened to four months. According to him, this further eliminates discrimination and the wider access to blood donation can help to make up for the shortage in Belgian blood reserves, while ensuring patient safety.

According to PTB-PVDA, this is a symbolic intervention. By maintaining a waiting period of four months, a large majority of gay men will still not donate blood, argued Thierry Warmoes. He is on the same wavelength as Sophie Rohonyi (DéFI, French-speaking liberals), who still considers it discrimination.

Deferral periods for or outright refusal of MSM blood donors have long been contested in Belgium and beyond. Several countries have recently taken steps to abolish restrictions for MSM donors altogether. In April, Canada gave Canadian Blood Services the green light to lift specific restrictions on blood donations from men who have sex with men. France and Greece also announced they will allow gay and bisexual men to donate blood without restrictions in early 2022.

(KR)

© BELGA PHOTO NICOLAS MAETERLINCK