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After being forbidden for decades, Chris hopes that his ‘liquid gold’ ‘is a step forward for equality’
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After being forbidden for decades, Chris hopes that his ‘liquid gold’ ‘is a step forward for equality’

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Chris Steel has not been in a Donorlounge chair for decades.
He compared his last phone call from the Red Cross Australia and asked him to donate: “Really coming out again”.
“I had to say, look, I know I can’t donate. I’m gay. I’m sorry,” he told SBS News.
“And you know, it’s one of those things that you don’t necessarily want to confront. It is a difficult conversation to have.”
Steel, who is treasurer of the law, argues for blood donation services to include donations of gay and bisexual men for years.

He says he is now happy to see the source of fear of many removed.

From Monday, most gay and bisexual men, those who use pre-blot statement prophylaxis (prep) and transgender women, will be able to donate plasma nationally, even if they had had sex with men in the past three months, as long as they meet all other suitability criteria.

Lifeblood Australia estimates that the change affects 600,000 Australians and, as a result, anticipates 24,000 extra donors or 95,000 extra plasmadonations.

Prohibition rooted in HIV transmission fears

Skye McGregor, an epidemiologist whose work focuses on surveillance and prevention of sexually transmitted infections and viruses transferred by blood to the Kirby Institute at the University of NSW, said that the prohibition comes from the 1980s.
She said that fears about transferring HIV through blood transfusions rises to an urgent health response from Australia and many other countries around the world.
“Australia introduced an indefinite postponement for men who have sex with men, and this because they are the population that is historically hit by HIV,” she told SBS News.
“There was a delay of three months or more between someone who received HIV and a test that could detect it.

“And so when HIV tests improved over time, the delay for men who have sex with men from indefinite to 12 months … when in 2021 was reduced to three months.”

First donor Johannes felt frustrated that he could not donate for years. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop

Steel is enthusiastic to witness the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), offers a safe road for donating the liquid gold and hopes to encourage thousands to donate.

“Gay men are just as altruistic as someone else,” said Steel.

“They want to help others, and they are prevented from doing this; that is changing today, and it is really great to see this step forward for equality.”

The service also works on changes in suitability for blood and platelet donations after the TGA has approved an entry to remove gender-based sexual activity rules.
According to those changes, all donors will be asked the same questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their gender or sexuality.

All donors with new or more partners are forbidden to continue if they have had anal sex in the last three months.

Rolling their sleeves a ‘step to equity’

Since hearing the rules update, the 26-year-old Canberran Ben, who did not give his last name, has recruited friends to roll up their sleeves.
Ben arrived before 9 am as one of the first donors during the launch event on Monday. He said he found the earlier guidelines “a bit unfair”.

“It’s a step towards fairness and I think it’s a reasonable sacrifice to make,” he said SBS News.

Two men are sitting at a table, with milkshakes and signs for them.

After the change in the rule, Ben (right) has already engaged six of his friends to donate plasma. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop

Ben was accompanied by Johannes, who works in a Canberra hospital and was motivated to add to the Plasma Poorraad after seeing the impact on the recipients firsthand.

“I am on the side of blood products and I know how life -saving it can be to have them, whether they are plasma or red blood cells,” said John.

‘Felt Braver’: Life -changing plasma

Hayley Teasdale cannot put the impact of two small bottles of plasma into words.

For years, a rare primary immune deficiency left her unwell, bedridden and often visited the hospital.

A woman in a dark pink blouse, who holds a bottle of plasma up while she speaks to another woman.

Hayley Teasdale uses two bottles of plasma per week, the equivalent of 100 plasmadononations, to stimulate her immunocomromous body. Source: SBS News / Rania Yallop

Now, the equivalent of 100 plasmadononations per year, meant that she can lead a full and active lifestyle and keep track of her three -year -old daughter.

Teasdale received her first dose of plasma at the age of 24 and described it as “life -changing”.
“I felt more brave to go out in public spaces.
“I could now get sick because I essentially had the support of someone else’s immune system, and that was very powerful.”

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