China’s Ministry of Health announced this month that they have lifted the ban on lesbian blood donation put in place in 1988. The lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men will stand.
Blood donations are an important component of the growing public health system in China and were thrown into the spotlight after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Xian, the director of Beijng-based lesbian organization, Tongyu, applauded the change in guidelines, telling the Global Times “It is also about our dignity and the elimination of blood donation discrimination.”
