Heartstopper star Joe Locke has called out his home country for prohibiting gay men from donating blood. We love to see it!
Locke, who was born in Douglas, Isle of Man, released a video about the island’s LGBTQ-related policy. Despite the island nation, located between Great Britain and Ireland, legalizing gay marriage in 2016 and banning conversion therapy in 2021, it still has a ban on gay men donating blood.
The initial ban was introduced across the UK during the AIDS crisis. Then in 2017, men who have sex with other men were allowed to give blood if they abstained from sex for three months. Then last year, queer men in monogamous relationships for more than three months were allowed to donate blood. But, the Isle of Man has yet to join that law change.
In partnership with island’s Pride organization, the 18-year-old released a passionate video on August 13. While he praised his home nation for the progress it made, Locke made SURE to let people know there’s more work to do.
Related: ABC Meteorologist Speaks Openly About The Discriminatory FDA Blood Ban
“The island has come so far in the last 30 years,” said Locke. “But there is still work to be done. The Isle of Man to this day does not allow gay men to donate blood, an archaic rule that was placed into force at the height of the AIDS pandemic. These rules have slowly changed in the UK since then, allowing gay men to donate blood under certain rules. But not on the island.”
He went on: “In 2014, a consultation into changing the rules was launched, with the outcome being that the policy was under review. This was six years ago and nothing has changed.”
The Netflix star then called “on the Manx governmental our politicians… to change this archaic law and bring the island one step closer on its journey to acceptance.”
While the video has been released online, it was played live during the Isle of Man’s Pride parade and festival. This makes two times that Joe Locke has made a big splash at Pride parades this year. The last time was July when Locke, Kit Connor, Sebastian Croft, Kizzy Edgell, and Corinna Brown joined the London Pride parade and danced in front of conservative protestors. The Heartstopper cast are truly international treasures.
Part 2🌈 pic.twitter.com/YY9gLbLoNR
— daily joe locke (@dailyjlocke) August 13, 2022
Ever since I can remember there has been discrimination against gays from donating blood, I’m 35.