Yes, but there may be some other eligibility criteria that apply to you.
- Before we get started…
People of all genders are welcome and safe in our blood donor centres.
At Lifeblood, we know that sex assigned at birth doesn’t define your gender (here, we’re using ‘sex’ to refer to sex assigned at birth and ‘gender’ to refer to personal and social identity). But, our existing donor registration doesn’t allow for a difference between sex assigned at birth and gender, and doesn’t accommodate all genders. At this stage you’ll need to select either male or female. While you can choose this yourself, we understand this may still be upsetting, and we’re sorry. We’re working to change this in the future.
You’ll always get the same friendly and caring service from our donor centre team members, but they may need to ask some more or different questions.
Of course, the team will be happy to use your current name (but we will need to record your legal name the first time) and pronouns if you let us know on the day of your donation.
- As a transgender person, is there any kind of sexual activity that will affect my ability to donate blood or plasma?
Yes, there are some sexual activities that may mean you have to wait to donate blood. For you, you’ll need to wait three months if you’ve had oral or anal sex with a male or transgender partner, even ‘safer sex’ using a condom.
We’re working on making changes so you can donate plasma without any wait period at all, regardless of sexual activity.
There’s more information about some other rules that apply to all donors, which you can read about on the link below. You can also read about what we’re doing to change things.
The ‘plasma pathway’ mentioned applies to men who have sex with men as well as transgender men and transgender women who have sex with men.
Find out more about sexual activity and blood donation here.
- What should I put on the form? My sex assigned at birth or my gender now?
It’s up to you.
Our eligibility criteria will be applied according to the gender that you report. If you’re non-binary or gender diverse there may be advantages to using the sex that best aligns with your hormonal status.
- Your hormones change how donation affects your health.
For example, donors with higher levels of oestrogen (female hormones) have a smaller blood volume than donors of the same height and weight who have higher levels of testosterone (male hormones), so the amount of plasma we can safely collect is smaller. This includes anyone taking oestrogen for gender affirmation.
The way we interpret some blood tests (like the haemoglobin and ferritin tests, which can be an indicator of iron stores in your blood) changes too.
Please let us know if you’re on any medications, including gender affirming hormones which can affect blood volume and haemoglobin.
- Can I give blood if I’m transgender?
Absolutely, but there may be some other eligibility criteria that apply to you.
As with all donors, we need to know a few details for your safety as well as the safety of the patients who receive donated blood and plasma products.
As mentioned above, your hormones change how donation affects your health.
Additionally, if you’ve had sex with a male or transgender partner, you’ll need to wait 3 months from that contact before you can donate. ‘Sex’ means any sexual activities including vaginal, oral or anal sex (but not sex toys). We’re working on some changes so that you’ll be able to donate plasma without any wait period at all (as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria). The current wait is based on rates of serious infections within certain population groups. For now, we’re using evidence suggesting that some groups of transgender people may have higher rates of HIV.
Although we test all blood donations, even the very best blood screening tests cannot detect an early HIV infection. That’s why we need to do our best to make sure that people don’t donate blood if they might have an early HIV infection. Learn more about the current rules, and how Lifeblood is working to change them.
- Are there different procedures for blood and plasma donation for transgender donors?
You’ll always get the same friendly and caring service from our donor centre team members, but they may need to ask some more or different questions. We make some small adjustments on our end to account for individual differences in all donors. Those differences may be related to your sex assigned at birth, but they also may be changed by hormones for gender affirmation, so make sure you let us know when we ask about medications — it’s also why we have different ways of assessing haemoglobin, iron levels and blood volume based on your individual circumstances.
- I’m on gender affirming hormones. Can I give blood or plasma?
Yes, as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria and let us know when we ask about what medications you’re taking.
A few things will change at our end, but nothing big. The main difference is that if you’re on gender affirming hormones, your haemoglobin levels will be assessed accordingly. The amount of plasma collected will also be adjusted.
- I’ve had gender affirmation surgery. Can I donate blood or plasma?
Yes, as long as you meet the other eligibility criteria and have had enough time to fully recover from surgery. The same rules apply to all surgeries, to keep you healthy and well.
- Can I donate blood or plasma if I’m taking PrEP?
Unfortunately, not right now — but we are working on changes so that anyone on PrEP will be able to donate plasma without a wait period. See the sexual activity page for more information.
- Want to know more?
If you have any questions about assigned sex at birth, gender and how they affect you as a donor, please don’t hesitate to contact us. We’re here to help.
