The Isle of Man has announced plans to update its discriminatory blood donation rules after Heartstopper actor Joe Locke criticised the self-governing British Crown dependency for their “archaic” law.
Locke made the comments via a video message at the island’s Isle of Pride celebrations in the capital, Douglas, saying the ban should be lifted to “bring the island one step closer on its journey to acceptance.”
Despite the United Kingdom’s incremental updates to its blood donation legislation, the self-governing Isle of Man has fallen well behind and still retains a blanket ban on queer men giving blood.
However, since Locke’s comments, Isle of Man health minister Lawrie Hooper has since announced that the rules would be updated, swiftly ending a consultation period for reviewing the law, which has been open since 2014 with no progress.
Hooper explained that there was a “willingness” to change the blood donation policy; however, the new rules must be “underpinned by clinical safety,” According to the BBC.
Hooper added, “Ultimately, the aim is absolutely to move to that position of equality where the ability to give blood is based on whether or not the blood is safe to be used.”
