New Zealand To Lift Blood Donation Restrictions For Gay And Bisexual Men

New Zealand will introduce new blood donation rules from May 4 that will allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood under an updated screening process focused on individual behaviour rather than sexuality. The move follows a similar update to Australia’s eligibility rules.

The changes, announced by the New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS), will replace questions specifically targeting men who have sex with men with a broader assessment applied equally to all donors. Under the previous policy, men were unable to donate blood for three months after having sex with another man, regardless of relationship status or safe sex practices.

NZBS Chief Medical Officer Dr Sarah Morley told the New Zealand Herald: “For the first time, all donors are going to be asked the same questions about recent sexual activity.” She said the updated process would replace questions “where we focus on men who have sex with men”.

The revised system uses what NZBS describes as an “individualised risk assessment”, which evaluates recent sexual behaviour rather than gender or sexual orientation. Similar approaches have already been adopted in several other countries, including Australia.

The changes are expected to increase the number of eligible donors while maintaining blood safety standards. NZBS said all donated blood would continue to undergo screening and testing before use.

The announcement follows recent changes in Australia, where new rules came into effect on April 20 through the Australian Red Cross Lifeblood service. Australia’s updated policy allows gay and bisexual men, along with transgender people in long-term monogamous relationships, to donate blood and platelets without a waiting period, provided they meet all other eligibility requirements.

Under the Australian system, all donors are now asked the same questions about sexual activity regardless of gender or sexuality. However, Australia’s policy still includes some restrictions based on specific sexual practices.

Lifeblood Chief Executive Officer Stephen Cornelissen said the Australian changes were “an important milestone for blood donation in Australia”.

Australia previously removed most sexual activity wait times for plasma donation in 2025, a move Lifeblood said had already resulted in thousands of new donors.