Hansard

I am not sure whether there are any figures for people who do not turn up to give blood in the first place, but everyone will agree that safety is paramount.

The deferral of men who have sex with men is based on two facts. First, they are at significantly higher risk of HIV than other groups, and secondly, it is not always possible to detect the presence of infections in donated blood. From Health Protection Scotland data, we know that in Scotland the prevalence rate of HIV among men who have sex with men is 7.7 per cent. In heterosexual individuals, that figure is 0.07 per cent. Men who have sex with men are therefore 100 times more likely to be infected with HIV than others.

Of course, monogamous relationships and the use of condoms reduces transmission of HIV and other infections, but they cannot eliminate the risk altogether. Approximately 30 per cent of men who have sex with men and who are infected with HIV are unaware of their infection. That would not represent such a significant risk if it was possible to always detect HIV infection in donated blood. The latest tests are very sensitive, but they are not perfect. Certain infections, including HIV, have what is called a window period immediately after infection when they are not yet detectable. The last two transfusion-related transmissions of HIV in the UK were as a result of the window period. That risk is not purely theoretical and it is why the deferral is currently recommended.

The motion specifically refers to the donation of organs and stem cells. However, it is important to understand why the criteria for those donations are different. For example, there is a limited supply of organs and, in those cases, the recipient will often be in a life-or-death situation. The life-saving benefit of a transplant will often outweigh the potential risk of HIV or other serious infections, so the risk assessment differs. That is not the case for blood donation, and as the blood transfusion service always has sufficient blood available to meet demand it does not need to take risks.

Decisions about the criteria for donating blood are based on the best available scientific evidence. This is complex, technical work, so we follow the advice of the expert advisory committee on the safety of blood, tissues and organs, which, as other members have mentioned, is also known as SaBTO.

SaBTO has set up a working group to review the donor selection criteria. As has been mentioned, it will report next year. The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport wrote to SaBTO earlier this year to encourage it to give consideration to other methods of managing the risk to the blood supply, including looking at other models of individualised assessment of donors’ risk. The review is welcome because it is assessing the latest evidence and considering different approaches to blood safety. The working group is also engaging with groups that may be affected by its recommendations, including organisations that represent men who have sex with men.

The advice from SaBTO is not static: it previously recommended a change in policy in 2011, which has been implemented.

I am grateful to be able to provide the Government’s position on the issue, to explain the good reasons for the current policy and to provide reassurance that it continues to be under review.

It is also important to reflect the historical experience of those who were infected with serious viruses, such as HIV or hepatitis C, as a result of NHS blood and blood products. The Penrose inquiry report on that matter was published last year. At the time of the report’s publication I met many of the families involved and I know that those affected would feel strongly that blood safety should never be compromised and that any risks should be mitigated as far as possible. That is what our deferral policies seek to do, based on expert advice.

One inadvertent infection via blood would be one too many. It would have lifelong consequences for those affected and could have a detrimental effect on trust in the blood transfusion service and the wider NHS.

We will seriously consider any recommendations from the review.