Conservative group Family Voice Australia have launched a new campaign urging Health Minister Mark Butler to intervene in the landmark decision by the Therapeutic Goods Association to allow new rules regarding gay men who donate blood.
“We must keep the ban in place to preserve the integrity of Australia’s blood.” National Director Peter Downie said in an email to supporters on Friday.
Downie and Family Voice Australia say the rate of HIV notifications involving gay men remain to high for the rules to be changed.
“Gay men continue to be the major HIV risk exposure in Australia, accounting for 63% of HIV notifications in 2023, despite homosexuals only making up a small percentage of the population.” Downie said launching the organisation’s new campaign.
Downie said the changes were only being made because “activists” had “pressured Lifeblood to prioritise ‘inclusion’ over safety.”
Earlier this week Lifeblood said they had been working to make blood and plasma donation more inclusive and accessible to as many people as possible, whilst maintaining the safety of the blood supply.
In the first of the rule changes, from Monday, 14 July 2025 Lifeblood will remove most sexual activity wait times for plasma donations.
Under this world-leading ‘plasma pathway’, most people, including gay and bisexual men, and anyone who takes PrEP, will be able to donate plasma without a wait period, providing they meet all other eligibility criteria. Lifeblood says extensive research and modelling show that there will be no impact to the safety of the plasma supply with this change.
At the same time, Lifeblood has also been progressing changes to blood and platelets donation eligibility, with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approving a submission to remove gender-based sexual activity rules.
Once implemented, all donors will be asked the same questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their gender or sexuality, and most people in a sexual relationship of 6 months or more with a single partner will be eligible to donate blood.
In addition, most people with new or multiple partners will also be able to donate blood if they have not had anal sex in the last 3 months. The change will bring an end to men being asked if they’ve had sex with another man.
Lifeblood’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Jo Pink said the safety and well-being of patients who receive blood and plasma would always be foremost in Lifeblood’s decision-making.
“Our submission to change rules for blood donation included data that shows, for now, a 6-month wait is the safest option for Australian patients, but we are committed to reviewing this as more evidence becomes available.
Decision welcomed by LGBTIQA+ rights groups
The decision to change the rules around blood donation has been welcomed by the Let Us Give campaign, who have spent years campaigning for Lifeblood to update the rules to match today’s science.
The Victorian Pride Lobby has also described the changes as welcome news.
“The Victorian Pride Lobby is pleased to hear of these changes, we acknowledge that there is still a long way to go in implementing gender-neutral assessments for those wanting to donate blood and plasma.
“We do acknowledge that Lifeblood is continuing to work towards implementing this though and hope to be able to implement further adjustments next year.” the organisation said in a statement.
“This announcement is a step towards bringing Australia in line with countries like Canada and the UK, both of whom have ditched antiquated restrictions.
“Such restrictions, which limited donations from gay, bisexual, and transgender people, are founded in discriminatory prejudice – modern research shows no substantial risk where such sexual activity restrictions are not in force.” the Victorian Pride Lobby said.
