Can you donate plasma if you are gay

If you become a donor from 14 Julyyou can list your gender and sex recorded at birth separately on our donor system when you first sign up. If you signed up before then, simply let us know during your pre-donation interview and we can update them for you. Of course, the team will be happy to use your current name but we will need to record your legal name the first time and pronouns if you let us know on the day of your donation.

Yes, there are some sexual activities that may mean you have to wait to donate blood. You can generally donate plasma straight away, regardless of sexual activity.

Men who have sex with men (MSM)

Find out more about sexual activity and blood donation here. Us knowing your sex recorded at birth helps us keep you safe when you donate, as well as correctly interpret some blood tests like iron and haemoglobin. Sex hormones affect your haemoglobin Hb levels, so Hb in people receiving hormones for gender affirmation sometimes referred to as HRT may be affected.

A history of having menstrual cycles affects your iron levels. So, knowing your full history can change the way we understand some blood tests like the haemoglobin and ferritin tests, which can be an indicator of iron stores in your blood. As with all donors, we need to know a few details for your safety as well as the safety of the patients who receive donated blood and plasma products.

You can generally donate plasma straight away regardless of sexual activity. Learn more about sexual activity and donation eligibility. We make some small adjustments on our end to account for individual differences in all donors. Those differences may be related to your sex recorded at birth, but they also may be changed by hormones for gender affirmation, so make sure you let us know when we ask about medications.

Yes, as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria and have had enough time to fully recover from surgery. The same rules apply to all surgeries, to keep you healthy and well. Anyone on PrEP can donate plasma without a wait period. I'm gender diverse, non-binary or transgender. Can I donate? Yes, but there may be some other eligibility criteria that apply to you.

Before we get started… People of all genders are welcome and safe in our blood donor centres. As a transgender person, is there any kind of sexual activity that will affect my ability to donate blood or plasma? Can I list my sex recorded at birth and my gender separately? Why do you need to know my sex recorded at birth?

Your hormones change how donation affects your health. Absolutely, but there may be some other eligibility criteria that apply to you. As mentioned above, your hormones change how donation affects your health.