Karo Pernegger / Die Grünen · Wikimedia Commons · CC0 1.0
The change the government announced
Health Minister Johannes Rauch and State Secretary Claudia Plakolm had presented the reform on 20 May 2022. Their announcement replaced blanket treatment of population groups with assessment of individual behaviour. One stated rule deferred a person who had more than three sexual partners in the preceding three months for three months. The government also announced scientific evaluation. These were the criteria and intentions described in 2022; they should not be treated as a complete account of every medical eligibility rule or as current individual donation advice. [1]
How the blood service prepared
The Red Cross said the donor questionnaire had been updated for use from 1 September. It also explained why donor selection continued alongside laboratory testing: tests only become informative after a diagnostic window following an infection. Its announcement welcomed the wider pool of potential donors while retaining health-related screening and temporary deferrals. That account makes the reform’s structure clear. It changed how people were assessed for particular risks; it did not remove medical screening or promise that every person presenting to donate would be accepted. [2]
A community organisation contested the practice
HOSI Wien’s release on 1 September alleged that a trans woman had been turned away by the Red Cross despite the reform. Chair Ann-Sophie Otte called for an explicit prohibition of discrimination in the regulation, arguing that the organisation had already raised concerns before implementation. The allegation is a documented statement by the advocacy organisation, not a finding from an independently investigated case or a court. It nevertheless identified a concrete implementation issue: whether staff procedures and forms reflected the government’s stated change.
The minister’s later answer
In a parliamentary answer dated 8 November 2022, Rauch said his ministry had been informed of an exclusion incident on 1 September. He stated that the revised regulation made admission independent of gender identity and sexual orientation and placed responsibility for the incident with the relevant donation service. This official response acknowledged the reported implementation problem without providing a published adjudication of the individual case. Read together, the government announcement, provider information and NGO intervention show why a formal rule change and consistent treatment at the point of service are distinct parts of equal access. [4][3][2]