SPOTS in the spotlight
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2026
4 Jan 2026 in RNZ. Blood donation rules are changing in 2026 - but why has it taken so long?.
28 April 2026 in University of Auckland News. Scientists welcome new blood donation policy.
28 April 2026 in One News (6pm News). More gay and bisexual men to be eligible to donate blood.
28 April 2026 in The Press. New blood donation rules to treat all donors equally from May.
28 April 2026 in NZ Herald. Gift of life: More gay and bisexual men to be able to give blood as screening rules change.
28 April 2026 in YourEx. NZ blood donation rules shift.
28 April 2026 in Star Observer (Australia). New Zealand To Lift Blood Donation Restrictions For Gay And Bisexual Men.
28 April 2026 in LGBTQ Nation (USA). New Zealand will soon allow gay & bi men to donate blood.
28 April 2026 in Attitude (UK). New Zealand expands blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men.
28 April 2026 in One News. Gift of life: More gay and bisexual men to be able to give blood as screening rules change.
28 April 2026 in RNZ Morning Report. Changes made to blood donation screening rules.
28 April 2026 in TODAY with Ryan Bridge. Changes coming to blood donor screening process | Ryan Bridge TODAY.
28 April 2026 in Q News (Australia). New Zealand to end gay blood donation ban in May.
2025
30 Jan 2025 in RNZ. Rules preventing blood donations from men who have sex with men to change.
30 Jan 2025 in NZ Herald. ‘Gay blood ban’ to be removed next year, New Zealand Blood Service says.
30 Jan 2025 in 1news. Rule change will allow more gay, bisexual men to donate blood.
30 Jan 2025 in SunLive. More blood donation rules set to change.
30 Jan 2025 in Newstalk ZB. ‘Gay blood ban' to be removed next year, blood donor service says.
30 Jan 2025 in The Platform.
30 Jan 2025 in Stuff. Removal of a blanket gay blood donation ban celebrated.
30 Jan 2025 in Gay Express. NZ Blood Service Confirms ‘Gay Blood Ban’ To End In 2026.
30 Jan 2025 in Science Media Center. Blood donation and HIV prevention symposium - Expert Reaction.
31 Jan 2025 in RNZ. More people eligible to give blood after Medsafe ban.
10 Feb 2025 in NZ Herald. Editorial: End of ban on gay blood donations a long time coming.
18 Feb 2025 in Health Research Council of New Zealand. https://mailchi.mp/hrc/important-dates-for-2026-project-grants?e=69b9329363 .
19 Feb 2025 in University of Auckland. Research spotlight: HRC-funded study supports changes to blood donor policy.
20 Feb 2025 in NZ Doctor. SPOTS Gay Sex Survey is back to help end HIV transmission in Aotearoa.
22 Feb 2025 in Paul… The Other One. Shanan Halbert: Keeping Communities safe - Behind the Walls.
27 Feb 2025 in RNZ. Survey seeks men's experiences navigating HIV risks.
28 May 2025 in TVNZ Breakfast. HIV numbers fall, but late AIDS diagnoses rise.
1 Dec 2026 in RNZ. Number of locally-acquired HIV diagnoses continues to fall – report.
1 Dec 2026 in bFM. The Ministry's of Health's HIV Monitoring Report w/ the University of Auckland's Peter Saxton.
2024
9 Feb 2024 in Star News. Study calls for blood donor rule changes. Peter Saxton.
9 Feb 2024 in NZ Herald. New Zealand blood donor regulations.
8 Feb 2024 in RNZ: The Detail. Fresh blood for our donor service. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in RNZ. New research finds more gay and bisexual men could give blood. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in TVNZ One News Breakfast. Blood donor rule change could bring thousands more donations. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in The Press. Blood service begins moves to relax ban on gay and bisexual men donors. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in NZ Herald. Gay blood donation rule removal would triple number of blood donors, study says. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in TVNZ One News. Calls for blood donor rule changes who can and can't give blood. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in Newsroom. Blood donation. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in Newstalk ZB News Bulletin. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in The Post. Too gay to donate blood? Maybe not. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in bFM. Outdated legislation preventing gay, bisexual, and takatāpui men from donating blood. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in NZ Doctor. Study calls for wider eligibility criteria for blood donations. Peter Saxton.
8 Feb 2024 in University of Auckland. Report supports changing rules for blood donation. Peter Saxton and Sarah Morley.
9 May 2024 in NZ Doctor. Research raises hope for ending HIV by 2030. Peter Saxton.
9 May 2024 in RNZ. HIV case numbers rise for the year, still 30 percent down from 2016-2020. Peter Saxton.
9 May 2024 in University of Auckland. Research raises hope for ending HIV by 2030. Peter Saxton.
13 May 2024 in Waatea News. New research out of Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland shows encouraging trends for HIV testing and prevention. Peter Saxton.
9 Aug 2024 in RNZ. Mpox: What men who have sex with men need to know about the virus. Peter Saxton.
9 Aug 2024 in The Post. Long wait times for vaccine ‘frightening’ as new NZ mpox case confirmed. Peter Saxton.
9 Nov 2024 in Science Media Centre. Provisional approval of mpox vaccine in NZ – Expert Reaction. Peter Saxton.
2023
26 Aug 2023 in The Post. The elusive gift of life: Why organ and blood donations are so rare and precious. Peter Saxton.
31 July 2023 in UniNews. Thomas Swinburn young student doctor wins award. Thomas Swinburn.
27 May 2023 in Newshub. New Zealand Blood Service reviewing 'archaic' restrictions on gay men donating blood. Peter Saxton, Koson Tony Sriamporn, and Cameron Leakey.
23 May 2023 in BFM. Blood donation in NZ, response to the FDA changes in the US (starts 35m40s). Koson Tony Sriamporn.
18 May 2023 in NZDoctor. Blood donation rights and wrongs: Risk versus reward of allowing gay and bisexual men to donate. Peter Saxton.
12 May 2023 in One News. US to let gay and bisexual men donate blood, calls for NZ to follow. Peter Saxton.
13 Jan 2023 in Stuff. Legal quirk means monkeypox vaccine can't be promoted to those who need it. Peter Saxton.
2022
4 Sept 2022 in RNZ. Assoc. Prof Peter Saxton on whether it’s possible to keep the supply of blood safe without excluding men who have sex with men. Peter Saxton.
22 Aug 2022 in Craccum. Minimising Monkeypox is Homophobic, says UoA Sexual Health Expert. Peter Saxton.
22 Aug 2022 in The Spinoff. What to know about monkeypox. Siouxsie Wiles and Toby Morris (with Peter Saxton).
19 Aug 2022 in ‘Raising the Bar’ Podcast. Peter Saxton - A blood donation policy that is safe, inclusive and more sustainable. Peter Saxton.
7 Aug 2022 in Newsroom. Eliminating HIV is within our grasp. Peter Saxton.
23 Jul 2022 in RNZ Māpuna. Making blood donations fairer for gay, bisexual, takatapui men. Kevin Haunui.
22 Jul 2022 in One News. Calls for more Māori and Pasifika to take part in blood donation study. Cameron Leakey.
21 Jul 2022 in Te Ao Māori News. SPOTS study. Kevin Haunui.
15 Jul 2022 in Gay Express. E Mahi Ana Mo Te Māori. Ricky Te Akau.
18 Jul 2022 in Waatea News. Dr Kevin Haunui | Takatapui Academic. Kevin Haunui.
19 Jun 2022 in RNZ. HIV prevention drug: 'Stigma is a thing that's still out there'. Peter Saxton.
19 Jun 2022 in RNZ. Pharmac widen access to safe sex drug after 'overwhelming support'. Peter Saxton.
12 Jun 2022 in Today FM. Blood donation (starts at 2 hours 12 mins). Peter Saxton.
16 May 2022 in Whanganui Chronicle. Former Whanganui student joins ground-breaking study on blood donation. Joshua McCormack.
13 May 2022 in Today FM with Tova O’Brien. Two Sides: Is it time to remove blanket bans on gay men donating blood?. Peter Saxton.
12 May 2022 in RNZ. HIV diagnoses lowest since late 1990s. Sue McAllister.
11 May 2022 in The Spinoff (syndicated in NZ Herald). Why has the ‘gay blood ban’ still not been lifted in New Zealand?. Koson Tony Sriamporn.
9 May 2022 in BFM. SPOTS Study w/ Joshua McCormack and Cameron Leaky. Cameron Leakey and Joshua McCormack.
9 May 2022 in Gisborne Herald. Seeking survey help in Tairawhiti. Kevin Haunui.
4 May 2022 in Radio 1 91 FM. Peter Saxton Lead Researcher of SPOTS Study on HIV Prevention and blood donation policies in Aotearoa. Peter Saxton.
29 Apr 2022 in Today FM. Is it time to change Aotearoa’s discriminatory blood donation rules?. Peter Saxton.
28 Apr 2022 in Radio Waatea. Gay men and blood donations. Kevin Haunui.
28 Apr 2022 with Andrew Whiteside. Interview: Removing discrimination from blood donations in New Zealand. Peter Saxton.
27 Apr 2022 in Te Hiku Radiospots. Study aims to improve blood donation policy. Kevin Haunui.
27 Apr 2022 in Today FM. Are stand-down periods for gay men who want to donate blood out of date?. Peter Saxton.
27 Apr 2022 in GayNZ.com. Blood donation.
27 Apr 2022 in TVNZ Breakfast. New study: Excluding MSM from NZ blood donations. Peter Saxton and Tony Fisher.
26 Apr 2022 in RNZ. Sex study aims to improve blood donation policy, HIV prevention. Peter Saxton, Kevin Haunui, and Sarah Morley.
26 Apr 2022 in New Zealand Times. Gender study aims to improve blood donation policy and HIV prevention.
26 Apr 2022 in Out The Gayte (Podcast). Blood donation.
26 Apr 2022 in BFM. Blood donations from lgbtq men with dr peter saxton. Peter Saxton.
26 Apr 2022 in RNZ. New study may overturn blood donation rules for gay men. Peter Saxton.
26 Apr 2022 in The Spinoff. New study aims to inform blood donation policy. Peter Saxton.
26 Apr 2022 in Stuff. Large-scale study launches for blood donation equity. Kevin Haunui and Peter Saxton.
26 Apr 2022 in RE:News. New study aims to remove barriers for gay blood donation. Joshua McCormack and Cameron Leakey.
11 Apr 2022 in Craccum. New Study Aims to Challenge “Gay Blood Ban”. Cameron Leakey and Koson Tony Sriamporn.