Gay people from Germany might now be able to donate blood to people in need as Germany  lift’s its restrictions on gay blood donation.

Germany will soon change its guidelines for people donating blood so as the same rule to applies to everyone despite their sexual orientation.

On Tuesday the country’s health minister Dr. Karl Lauterbach said that official guidelines are been set so  that potential donors will be given a chance and not seen different based on their sexual orientation.

Speaking on RND, Dr. Lauterbach said that one should not be denied an opportunity to donate blood because of their sexual orientation.

“Whether someone can become a blood donor is a question of behavioral risk and not sexual orientation , Lauterbach said.

According to current guidelines from German Medical Association(BAK), men who have sex with men are only allowed to donate blood if they have not had ‘a new or multiple sex partners’ in the past four months.

Other people are assessed on whether they are “frequently changing partners.”

The rules date back in the 1980’s when gay men were thought to carry a higher risk of transmitting the HIV/AIDS virus.

New Rules

With the new rules, potential donors will be assessed only on the ‘”basis of the individual behavior of the person willing to donate.”

A change to the law will be enforced on April 1, after which the BAK will have four months to come up with new guidelines.

The German lesbian and gay association ( LSVD) welcomed the plans calling them ” long overdue”.

The LGBTQ community is looked down because people do not accept their sexual orientation but with time , the little changes been done, people will accept them.

Also Read : New Cabinet Orders as President Ruto issues directives on projects