Health ministry proposes loosening restrictions on who can donate blood

The Ministry of Health has proposed that donors' blood be tested more thoroughly for diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C, in order to widen the pool of who is allowed to donate blood, the Czech News Agency reported on Monday. The health ministry says that these tests are standard in Western European countries and would bring Czechia more in line with other EU countries.

At the moment, there are several restrictions that preclude certain groups in Czechia from donating blood either temporarily or permanently, such as people who have suffered from certain illnesses in the past, for example, hepatitis or tuberculosis, people with certain chronic conditions, such as high blood pressure, and men who have sex with men. Health Ministry spokesman Ondřej Jakob said that the ministry expects a wider professional discussion will ensue on the assessment of sexual intercourse between men as a risky sexual activity that excludes them from donating blood.

The Czech Republic is short of about 50,000 regular blood donors, according to data from the Czech Red Cross. If passed, the new decree would apply from July 1.