'It was always my aim to return the favour and replace it by donating blood myself. “My mum had a heart bypass when I was a teenager and received a lot of blood, which saved her life,' said Adrian. Picture supplied by NHSįrom today (Monday) – World Blood Donor Day – donors in England, Scotland and Wales will no longer be asked if they are a man who has had sex with another man, but will be assessed based on individual circumstances surrounding health, travel and sexual behaviours.Īnyone who has had the same sexual partner for the last three months will be eligible to donate.Īdrian Bond, a 36-year-old railway worker from Rochester, has booked in to give blood for the first time in Maidstone on Monday June 14, and will be one of the first newly eligible people to donate. New eligibility rules that will allow more men who have sex with men to donate blood, platelets and plasma come into effect this week, marking a historic move to make blood donation more inclusive while keeping blood just as safe.
A Rochester man will be among the first to give blood following a relaxation in donation rules for gay and bisexual men.
