Norwegian health minister : Wants to change the blood donor rules for gays

The Norwegian government under the Minister of Health Ingvild Kjerkol is now giving an assignment to the Norwegian Directorate of Health: The quarantine rules for gay blood donors will be reviewed.

Today, the Norwegian government is taking a big step to change gays’ ability to donate blood.

We give the Norwegian Directorate of Health an assignment to assess changes in the quarantine rules for men who have sex with men, says Minister of Health and Care Services Ingvild Kjerkol (Labor Party), she says to Dagbladet.

According to Dagbladet, until now, there has been a twelve-month sex quarantine for gay men who want to donate blood. Today’s quarantine rules apply since the last time they had sex with another man, not since the last change of partner.

Heterosexual blood donors, on the other hand, are quarantined for six months after the last change of partner. The rules have previously been criticised for discriminating against gay men.