An independent review commissioned by the Red Cross in 2012 found sufficient evidence to support the reduction of the waiting time after sexual activity from 12 months to six months, saying shortening the time would not reduce safety or risk. The review had the backing of several of Australia's peak HIV/AIDS bodies.



This review (and two other reports on infectious diseases and donation) was not accepted by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), and nothing changed.

The TGA, which oversees blood policy, reasoned that reducing the waiting time could increase the risk of an infection being passed on to a blood recipient with no significant boost to donor numbers.



But the Victorian Labor government says that assumption isn’t backed up by data. It wants the TGA to reevaluate the science behind blood donation to align the best practice policy with contemporary evidence on risk, given that all donations are screened and tested for a number of infectious blood borne diseases.

Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Chile, Argentina and South Korea have no deferral periods for men who have sex with men.



The Red Cross Blood Service told BuzzFeed News it was disappointed with the TGA’s 2012 decision because it thought it had the data that proves the wait time could be safely reduced to six months.



The Red Cross and Hennessy agree a review process needs to take place before any decision is made.



“We know that the need for life saving blood donations never stops. Removing or reducing this ban will help more people save more lives,” she said.