Receiving a blood donation can be essential for the recovery of a patient with Covid-19. And Northern Ireland has already realized that the best thing to do in this scenario is to let the MSM population (men who have sex with men) also donate.
Starting June 1, the country's MSM will be able to donate blood three months after their most recent sexual encounter. Previously, the restriction was 12 months. The information is from with the BBC; find out more details at the link (in English).
The local Health Minister, Robin Swann, stated that his decision is based on “the evidence of the safety of donated blood”. “Any of us may need to donate blood in the future and we need to have confidence that the blood we receive will be safe,” he said.
Thus, Northern Ireland follows the opposite path to Brazil, which, even during the new coronavirus pandemic, maintains the 12-month restriction on MSM.
