France opens blood donation to gay men with qualifications

• Fulfilling a campaign promise of President François Hollande, the French health ministry announced it will relax the 1983 law banning gay men from donating blood.
• Men who have abstained from sex with other men for at least 12 months will be allowed to donate blood, while men who have not had sex with men or have had sex in the context of a monogamous relationship for four months can donate plasma.
• Rights groups cautiously praised the development, acknowledging the continued profiling of gay men through the ongoing restrictions, which will be reviewed in 2017.

Read more:
“Ouverture progressive du don de sang aux homosexuels à partir de 2016” (Le Monde)
“France to lift ban on gay men giving blood” (AFP via Yahoo! News)
“France to Lift Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Noah Seelam/AFP)