Petition · past parliament
Equalise the right for a gay man to give blood.
Rejected
19 signatures
What the petition asks
If you are a gay man in the UK, you are forbidden from giving blood if you have been sexually active in the last twelve months. Conversely, if you are a straight man and are sexually promiscuous then this doesn't apply to you and it is fine for you to donate. This is discriminatory and wrong.
A ban on gay men donating blood was first passed in the 1980s when HIV was prevalent. Since then, the LGBT community has experienced the equalisation of the age of consent and also marriage but still gay men are discriminated against over giving blood. The advancement in the detection of HIV and treatment steps (albeit it cannot be cured) has since meant that HIV is much easier to identify and the donor can be prevented from giving blood. A blanket ban is unjustified in modern society.
Why it was rejected
There was already a petition about this issue. Duplicates are rejected so signatures collect in one place.
Timeline
| 1 Feb 2017 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 2 Feb 2017 | Rejected by the Petitions Committee |
Key facts
Signatures
19
Status
Rejected
Rejected
2 Feb 2017
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.