Sorry, didn’t mean to be unclear! The question is in fact posited to every applicant regardless of sex/gender/orientation, our entire questionnaire is universal. Anal sex is brought up with anybody that’s had a recent new partner(again regardless of any of those metrics) just because of the enhanced risk due to delicate tissues etc. involved.

Like you say, at least it’s progress!

Nope! I grew up overseas and they finally eased those restrictions a couple of years ago.

I can’t vouch for the Red Cross specifically, but the blood bank I work for has no issues with it anymore.

Phlebotomist here! Our organisation does ask these questions, but it works more like a flow chart; essentially what we’re trying to rule out is if you’ve had anal sex with a new partner in the last 3 months, just because of the inherent risks there.

Condom use, while ideal on a personal level, is kind of a moot point where donating is concerned just because there’s no way for us to know that it was worn correctly, that nothing went away with it, etc.

If he’s getting paid for the plasma then it’s being used for research, not for donations, so they’ll still take it either way.