英國政府決定從今年11月起解除同性戀和雙性戀男子終身不得獻血的禁令，宣布只要在過去一年內未與同性發生性行為的男子均可參與獻血。英國同性戀獻血禁令于上世紀80年代初期開始實行，因為當時檢測技術有限，處于“潛伏期”的艾滋病毒很難被檢測出來。不過，隨著醫學技術的不斷發展，此項禁令開始受到質疑。英國研究機構檢測最近的研究發現，大多含有艾滋病毒的血液現在都可以被有效地檢測出來，所以被感染的血液危害到其他病人的可能性微乎其微，因此禁止同性戀獻血的醫學理由并不充分。英國政府認同這一研究結果，并宣布解除禁令。不過，在此項禁令正式解除之前，英國血液、組織和器官安全咨詢委員會將會對其進行全面評估。英國衛生部承認，他們只能選擇相信某些同性戀獻血者的個人誠信，因為他們是否曾禁欲一年這一事實是無法檢測的。

The lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales.

The lifetime ban on blood donations by homosexual and bisexual men will be lifted in England, Scotland and Wales.

Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months to donate from November.

The restrictions were put in place in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination.

However, the latest medical evidence presented to a government panel argued the ban could no longer be justified.

Ministers in the three countries accepted the argument and said they would be relaxing the rules. Northern Ireland is expected to make a decision soon.

The National Blood Service screens all donations for HIV and other infections. However, there is a "window period" after infection during which it is impossible to detect the virus.

In the UK, a lifetime ban was introduced in the early 1980s as a response to the Aids epidemic and the lack of adequate HIV tests.

The ban had been questioned both on equality and medical grounds.

The government's Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs has been reviewing the policy.

Committee member Prof Deirdre Kelly said the safety of the blood supply is "absolutely essential" and that any restrictions "must be based on the latest scientific evidence".

She said there had been advances in the testing of donated blood which had significantly reduced the chance of errors and had reduced the size of the "window period".

She said the data showed that "the risk from a 12-month deferral was equivalent to permanent deferral" so "the evidence does not support the maintenance of a permanent ban".

Other at-risk groups, such as people who have been sexually active in high-risk countries, are already banned from donating for a year.

The findings were accepted by health ministers and a one-year ban will come into force in England, Scotland and Wales on 7 November.

Several other countries have already come to similar verdicts.

South Africa has introduced a six-month gap between sex and donation. It is a year in Australia, Sweden and Japan.

Research published at the end of last year suggested there was no significant increase in the risk of HIV infection after the change in the rules in Australia.

Dr Lorna Williamson, medical and research director of NHS Blood and Transplant, said: "The change does not alter the estimated risk, therefore patients needing a transfusion can be sure blood is safe."

The gay rights group Stonewall said the move was a "step in the right direction".

However, its chief executive Ben Summerskill said there would still be tighter controls on low-risk gay men than on high-risk heterosexuals.

相關閱讀

美加州立法要求學校開同性戀歷史課

白宮首次任命“男同”為社交秘書

美國軍隊將廢除同性戀禁令

(Agencies)

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen ）