Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz removes the restriction on blood donations from gays and says: "There is no difference between blood and blood."
Following his directive, the Ministry of Health will remove the clause that aborted gays in the blood donation questionnaire.
The change is expected to take effect on 1.10.21.
According to the said section, it was forbidden to receive a blood donation from a man who has sex with another man (even when it comes to sex with a regular partner).
Instead of this section, an equal section will appear in the blood donation questionnaire, which does not relate to the donor's gender or sexual orientation, in the following language: "After having high-risk sex * with a new partner or multiple partners, wait 3 months until the next blood donation. ".
This is possible following a professional recommendation from the Advisory Committee to the Ministry of Health for Transfusion Medicine, which is consistent with changes in blood donation policies, which have been adopted in the past year in other countries around the world.
Now, on the orders of Minister Horowitz, and thanks to the mobilization of the blood services in MDA and the professionals in the Ministry of Health, this has come to fruition.
Health Minister Horowitz, who is also a member of the gay community, said: "There is no difference between blood and blood. The ban on gays donating blood has been a remnant of a stereotype that belongs to history. For years Israel has tried to correct this discrimination without success, To the Ministry of Health, I immediately stopped the discrimination against gays in this matter, and so we did.We removed the degrading and irrelevant questions in the blood donation questionnaire.
"From today, every blood donor who comes with the goal of saving a life will receive equal treatment, no matter what his gender or sexual orientation, whether he is LGBT or straight.
"After the surrogacy revolution, the transgender community assistance program, and the precedent-setting budget for the gay community, we have taken another historic step toward equality for LGBT people in Israel, and that is a great pride."