5 THINGS TO KNOW

Hong Kong gay and bisexual men now allowed to donate blood, with restrictions.

The Hong Kong Red Cross has announced a reversal of its policy banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood. Gay and bisexual men will now be allowed to donate blood, under the condition that they have not had sex with other men for a 12-month “safety period” starting from September 25.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Risky sex on the rise with gay men.

After the AIDS epidemic of the 1980s, one would think that gay men would take a lesson from their forebears and exercise extra caution (in addition to exercising their penises) in their bedroom activities.

HEALTH

Reproduction rights for lesbians now a matter of social justice in France.

The right of lesbian couples and single women to have access to assisted reproduction was “a matter of social justice” and will likely be legislated next year, a French government minister said on Tuesday. The move would mark a significant extension of gay rights in France, where violent protests preceded the legalization of same-sex marriage and adoption by homosexual couples in 2013.

5 THINGS TO KNOW

Fighting for surrogacy for gay men in Utah.

Jon and Noel started talking about having a family not long after they married in 2013. An author and a professor who have been together more than a decade, the couple considered adoption, but settled on surrogacy out of a strong desire to have a biological child. That plan was derailed last year when a southern Utah judge denied their petition to enter a surrogacy agreement with a woman who wanted to help make their family complete.