Denmark's blood donation system will “better embrace gender equality” from next year, with sexually active gay men allowed to donate blood for the first time.
The new rules will allow sexually active gay men in monogamous relationships to donate blood, with all other gay men allowed to donate blood after four months without sex.
According to Danish health minister Ellen Trane Nørby, the new laws will be rolled out in 2019.
“The authority has found a model we feel is safe and we will therefore incorporate it into Denmark," Danish website DR Nyheder quoted Nørby as saying.
Nørby added: "All safety mechanisms in our blood donation system are built on trust and we have some very advanced tests that screen the blood.”
In Australia, only gay men who haven't had sex for 12 months are qualified to donate blood, despite ongoing research and recommendations for change from the Red Cross Blood Service and Kirby Institute for Infection and Immunity.
CEO of Victorian AIDS Council, Simon Ruth, has, according to VICE, previously called the 12-month deferral period "obviously discriminatory", saying it perpetuates "homophobic misunderstandings of the sexual practices and risk behaviour of gay men".
Similarly, the co-convenor of the Victorian Gay and Lesbian Rights Council, Sean Mulcahy has said: “The ban sends out an incorrect and irresponsible public health message by suggesting that all gay sex is a health risk while all heterosexual sex is safe.”
