Gay and bisexual men are banned by the National Blood Service (NBS) from donating blood for life. This year we are running a nation wide campaign to change this policy, donation not discrimination. 

LGBT people are not all the same. It is unjust to assume that all gay and bisexual men are automatically at a high risk of contracting HIV/AIDs and therefore should be barred from donating blood. But the NBS refuses to recognise this.

After everything that LGBT people have come through, and all the gains we have made towards equality over the last few years, it is hard to believe that we should face such discrimination and homophobia from an organisation such as the National Blood Service.

On this page you will find resources, information and all the arguments you’ll need to run a successful campaign.

We hope that you, your society and students from your institution will play an active part in removing this piece of deeply stigmatising policy, and ensure a policy which protects the blood supply in a fair and balanced way.

Blood Facts - Fact sheet on why donating blood is so important

National Blood Service Policy

NUS LGBT Campaign Policy

Model Petition - A simple yey effective form for you to print off and get signatures

Winning the Arguments - Familiarise yourself with the arguments so you can make a strong case

Colourful Campaigning - Hints and tips on how to make your demonstration memorable

Organising an Information Picket - Make sure you have everything covered with our tips on running a picket

Getting Good Press Coverage - Get top tips for getting media attention of your demo

Sample press release - Download this, personalise it and send it to your local media agencies

The International Campaign - See how over countries are listening to donation not discrimination

Donor Cards - A great message to hand in when giving blood

Demo Flyers - Great resources for you to print off and display

A5 Flyer - Great resources for you to print off and display

A2 Poster - Great resources for you to print off and display

Bilingual Poster

Logo - Download the donation not discrimination logo for use on on and offline materials

Welsh Logo

And finally - Remember this is a national event, and in order for it to be a real success we need to know what is going on in different parts of the country.