From Tomorrow, Everyone Can Donate Blood

Iceland will open blood donation to everyone tomorrow, ending rules that barred donors based on sex or sexual orientation. A new regulation from the health minister also prohibits discrimination based on origin or other unrelated personal status.

Health Minister Alma D. Möller described the change as a long-awaited milestone. She said it pursues two goals: improving safety for blood recipients and increasing the number of eligible donors.

The new system will assess each donor individually. It sets common criteria for risky sexual behavior, regardless of a person’s sex or sexual orientation. Such behavior can lead to a temporary deferral because of the risk of infectious disease, but a donor’s group identity alone cannot determine eligibility.

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We are improving the safety of blood recipients and expanding the donor pool. The procedures will clearly state that it is prohibited to turn away blood donors based on sexual orientation, while setting clear conditions for responsible sexual behavior by all blood donors, regardless of sexual orientation or sex.

The regulation states that blood donors must not face unequal treatment on the basis of irrelevant considerations, including sex, sexual orientation or origin. Möller said the procedures would make clear that blood donors cannot be turned away because of sexual orientation, while requiring responsible sexual behavior from all donors.

Þorbjörn Jónsson, chief physician at Iceland’s Blood Bank, said more sensitive tests for blood-borne infections introduced last year would support the change. The Blood Bank will also begin using a new donor questionnaire based on individual risk assessment rather than older criteria applied to groups.

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Last year, more sensitive tests were introduced to detect blood-borne infectious diseases. Now we are introducing a new questionnaire for blood donors with an individualized risk assessment, instead of the older group-based criteria.