New rules that will allow more gay and bisexual men to donate blood in Iceland took effect on Sept. 1.

The Iceland Review, an English-language magazine, notes the new regulations the country’s Health Ministry approved are gender-neutral. Some restrictions, however, remain in place for potential donors, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Specific sexual activity can be linked to higher risk of bloodborne infections, therefore thorough screening is very important in regards to blood donor eligibility,” states the Icelandic Blood Bank on its website.

Potential donors are asked these two questions:

• In the past four months, have you had sex with a new partner?

• In the past four months, have you engaged in what is considered sexual relation of higher risk?

The Icelandic Blood Bank defines “sexual relation of higher risk” as:

• Sexual relation where a condom is not used and relationship duration is less than 4 months.

• Sexual relation outside of pre-existing long-term relationship, where a condom is not used.

• Sexual relation with many individuals (more than one) with/without a condom.

• Sexual relation, where a condom is not used, with an individual whose behavior falls under sexual relation of higher risk.

• Sexual relation where a condom is not used, with an individual that injects narcotics. If more than four months have passed since the last injection, donation is permitted.

• Sexual relation, with/without the use of condom, in exchange for payment.

• Anal sex with/without a condom with a new partner.

• Sexual relation where chemicals are used to enhance sexual experience (chemsex).

• Sexual relation with/without the use of a condom, with an individual diagnosed with HIV, HTLV, Hepatitis B or C, or syphilis.

• Sexual relation with an individual using viral medication (PrEP or PEP) for HIV.

“If yes, evaluation for possible deferral from blood donation needs to be done,” says the Icelandic Blood Bank.

A person with HIV, Human T-lymphotropic virus-1, hepatitis B or C, or syphilis cannot donate blood. A person who has taken PrEP or PEP in the previous four months is also unable to become a donor.

“If more than four months have passed since the medication was taken, viral screening can be done,” says the Icelandic Blood Bank. “If results are negative, blood donation is permitted. Deferral period is longer if administrated intravenously.”

Any potential donor who had “sexual relation with an individual using viral medication (PrEP or PEP) for HIV” must wait four months since their “last sexual relation” before they can give blood.

Anyone who has “ever, even just once, shared a needle/syringe with someone or injected yourself with an illegal substance (non- doctor prescribed), e.g. drugs, anabolic steroids, hormones or peptides.” is permanently prohibited from donating blood.

Iceland is the latest country to lift restrictions for LGBTQ blood donors.

The Australian Red Cross Blood Service in April implemented a new policy that allows “gay and bisexual men and transgender people in long-term monogamous relations (of at least six months) to donate blood and platelets for the first time.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2023 implemented a new screening policy for potential donors that asked them questions about their sexual activity, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity. The previous policy required men who have sex with men to not have sex for at least three months before they could donate blood.

The Swiss government has said it supports a nationwide ban on so-called conversion therapy.

The Swiss Broadcasting Corporation on its website notes the government officially announced its position in a report it published on Wednesday.

Neuchâtel in 2023 became the first Swiss canton to ban conversion therapy.

Lawmakers in Valais and Vaud have also prohibited the widely discredited practice in their respective cantons. Bern and Geneva are among the other cantons in which lawmakers have considered similar prohibitions.

The European Commission earlier this year said all European Union countries should ban conversion therapy.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but lawmakers in neighboring Germany in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.

Several EU countries — Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain — have banned conversion therapy outright.

The Dutch Senate in June approved a bill that would ban conversion therapy in the Netherlands. The lower house of the country’s parliament approved the measure in September 2025.

Greece in 2022 banned conversion therapy for minors.

Bulgaria’s top court has ruled the country’s government must allow transgender people to legally change their name and gender on ID documents.

A trans woman from Bulgaria who moved to Italy, had tried to change her gender and name on her Bulgarian ID documents, but courts in the country denied her requests for nearly a decade.

The Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation in a 2023 ruling essentially banned trans people from legally changing their name and gender on ID documents.

The EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg, which is the European Union’s highest court, in March ruled in the “Shipova” case that member states must allow trans people to legally change their name and gender on ID documents. The lead plaintiff in the “Shipova” case is among the four litigants in the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation case.

Two Bulgarian advocacy groups — Bilitis and Deystvie — along with TGEU – Trans Europe and Central Asia and ILGA-Europe in a joint statement they issued on Tuesday noted the Bulgarian Supreme Court of Cassation’s July 22 decision “aligns Bulgarian practice with the Court of Justice of the EU, enabling changes to gender markers, names, and personal identification numbers.”

“The judges also concluded that EU law requires Bulgaria to establish a legal procedure for legal gender recognition, which is necessary so that Bulgarian trans citizens can travel and reside freely inside the EU,” they added.

Bulgaria has been a member of the EU since 2007.

The country borders Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, and Turkey.

“We are very glad to see that the judges of the Supreme Court clearly stated that it is actually a matter of rule of law for Bulgaria to respect the universal equality and the dignity of all human beings, including trans people for whom human rights-based legal gender recognition procedures are an indispensable element,” said Denitsa Lyubenova, co-chair of Deystvie who represented the four plaintiffs in the Bulgarian courts and the lead litigant in the “Shipova” case at the EU Court of Justice. “The government needs to act swiftly now to put in place an LGR procedure that is fully in line with European human rights case law, which means without any conditions requiring proof of medical, surgical or hormonal treatment.”

The groups also urged the Bulgarian government to codify the ruling into law.

“While lower courts are expected to follow this ruling directly, a court decision is not a substitute for law,” they said. “Bulgaria still needs a fast, transparent, and accessible legal gender recognition procedure written into legislation, not left to case-by-case court precedent. TGEU – Trans Europe and Central Asia, Bilitis, Deystvie, and ILGA-Europe call on the Bulgarian government to start that legislative process now, with meaningful involvement from civil society.”