Responding to the news, NUS Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Trans (LGBT) Officers Daf Adley and Lucy Brookes said:
“We are delighted that Stonewall has decided to join the campaign against this policy.
Risk not perceived risk
“As NUS has been saying for years, the blood donation system should be based on actual risk, not perceived risk. The LGBT community is very diverse and different people live in very different ways. It is wrong to assume that every gay and bisexual man is automatically high-risk, and therefore wrong to automatically ban them from giving blood.
Lifetime ban
“Under the current system, a man who has had sex with another man just once in his life is banned from giving blood forever, while a heterosexual person who has engaged in unprotected sex in high risk areas is free to donate after twelve months. This is a completely irrational and dangerous policy.
“The NBS should reassess this policy, and allow healthy gay and bisexual men at low risk to donate blood. That includes those in a monogamous relationship and those who have not had sex in a defined period of time.
Vital need
“We would like to stress that the National Blood Service provides a vital supply to those in need, and the NUS LGBT Campaign will continue to urge others to ‘give blood, because we can’t’.
“We will also continue to urge students’ unions to campaign on this issue whenever the blood service is present on campus, whilst being careful not to disrupt the important work they are doing.”