Hansard

I think Fulton MacGregor for bringing this important debate to the chamber and I join him and colleagues in thanking everyone who works in the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service, particularly in these unprecedented times.

It is incredibly inspiring to hear of the many thousands of people who take the time to give blood every year. I say to everyone who gives blood across Scotland that what they do truly transforms lives. We are immensely grateful for their efforts.

The online page for the SNBTS amazing stories campaign gives an insight into the positive impact that donating blood can have, but I want to draw members’ attention to a story I read in my local paper about Freya Pennington from Giffnock, which is in my region. Freya, who is seven years old, attends Braidbar primary school and was diagnosed with leukaemia. She had 14 blood transfusions over the course of last year. Her mother Louise spoke of the moment when she realised the importance of donating blood, saying that she had an “overwhelming sense of gratitude” for those who did that. She added:

“If you are on the fence about it, or it’s something you have never thought about, please consider it, as it is so worthwhile.”

Stories like that can make all the difference and it is important that we share them in our constituencies and regions to encourage more people to come forward and give blood.

The SNBTS said last month that there has been a 13 per cent reduction in the number of people donating blood, equating to 13,000 fewer people giving blood in a single year. Colleagues have spoken about the need to do more to bring forward new donors. I am glad that pleas for people to step forward and donate blood are receiving widespread coverage and hope that we will begin to see an increase in the number of people doing so.

Important steps have been taken to widen the eligibility to donate blood. There have been considerable and historic steps forward in the past year following the publication of the evidence-based review by the UK-wide FAIR—for assessment of individualised risk—steering group. I was delighted, and felt quite emotional, to see the group’s recommendation to remove the three-month ban on donations from men who have had sex with men.

Those recommendations were accepted in December 2020. Their implementation in June last year meant that that was the first time since the early 1980s that many gay and bisexual men would no longer be judged against in the blood donation criteria because of who they are. The outdated rules, which reinforced stigma and were inconsistent with safer sex messages, have been consigned to the dustbin of history. It is thanks to the continued efforts of many individuals, and of groups such as the Terrence Higgins Trust and the Equality Network—whose development manager, Scott Cuthbertson, has campaigned on the issue for 15 years—that we are finally able to take this progressive step forward here in Scotland.

I confess that, like many other gay men, I have not given blood since I was in my early teens. I intend to return to giving blood in my community. I am reliably informed that a Tunnock’s tea cake and a cup of tea are still available after donation. Perhaps Fulton MacGregor, Jackie Dunbar and others can assure me of that.

In conclusion, I echo what we have heard from colleagues tonight. I urge everyone in our county to take the time, if they can, to give blood, and think about the difference that doing so makes to the lives of people in our communities. I call on our local authorities to continue to ensure that there is provision of spaces and sites where people can attend mobile blood donation centres.

We have taken huge steps forward, and there should not be barriers to giving blood when it is safe to do so. I would like to see far more people come forward and take the time to save a life, because that is exactly what they would be doing.