Gay Thais Allowed
to Donate Blood

Gay men in Thailand will now be able to donate blood, the Red Cross of Thailand announced on Friday. Gay rights activists had complained about the screening process, which essentially barred gay men from donating blood, solely because of their sexual orientation, for fear of contaminating the blood supply with HIV, according to Agence France-Presse.

"We didn't mean to hurt anyone," Soisaang Pikulsod, director of the Thai Red Cross National Blood Center, said in the article. "It was just to ensure the highest possible safety of our patients."

The Red Cross is reworking the form to include questions about risky sexual behavior and drug abuse rather than sexual orientation.

In Thailand, a predominantly Buddhist country, donating blood is an important way of earning religious merit, which Buddhists believe will help them in their next life, according to the report.

In 2007, it was found that 500 Thai blood donors had HIV and that about half of those donors were gay or bisexual men. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 28% of gay men in Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, are HIV-positive. (The Advocate)