Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to update blood donation criteria to remove the three month restriction on donating blood for anyone whose partner has had sex with someone from parts of the world where HIV is very common.

The Department has considered the evidence presented by the For the Assessment of Individual Risk steering group on the removal of the question that asks potential blood donors about whether they have recently had sex with a partner who may ever have had sex in an area where HIV is endemic.

Retaining this deferral ensures we maintain a robust and careful approach to blood donation that protects both donors and those receiving this potentially life-saving intervention. The safeguards in place to ensure the safety of those donating and those receiving blood and blood products remain under regular review.