Ted: And we’re back with another episode of Babbel News – English Only, featuring news content sourced directly from Reuters to help you improve your listening skills.

I’m Ted, English expert at Babbel, here to guide you through the episode. In today’s news clip, you’ll hear about how Switzerland has changed its rules so that gay men can give blood more easily.

Do you find it helpful to read along while listening? If that’s the case, you can find the transcript for this episode by following the link in the episode description.

As usual, we’ll begin by taking a look at the important words and phrases from today’s story. We’ll start with “restrictions”, which are rules or laws that limit what you can do. Next, “to amend” is to make small changes to a law or document. And then we have “criteria”, which are standards or conditions that have to be fulfilled in order to be able to do something. And not being able to meet a certain criteria makes you “ineligible”, meaning you don’t qualify for something. Make sure to listen for that word in its noun form, “ineligibility”, during the story. Up next, we have an idiom: “a page in a history book”, or a “page in history”, is a way of expressing an important event or turning point that will be remembered and written about in the future. A “barrier” is a problem, rule or situation that blocks somebody from doing something. And then, “to systematically bar” is to prevent something according to a fixed, organized, and official plan. And lastly, “to date back to” means to have existed since a particular time.

All right, it’s time to play the news story.

Reuters: Gabriel Delabays is one of the first gay men in Switzerland to give blood without extra restrictions on Wednesday (November 1).

Switzerland amended blood donation criteria for men who have sexual relations with other men, making ineligibility criteria the same for homosexuals and heterosexuals.
 
“It’s a small page in a history book that says: On November 1, 2023, Switzerland allowed homosexuals to donate their blood more easily. I don’t think we should think only as a community, but it’s good to break barriers and to promote the right things to do.”
 
Until 2017, gay men were systematically barred from giving blood in Switzerland. It was a policy dating back to the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the 1980s. Since then, men sexually active with other men were allowed to donate blood only if 12 months had passed since their last homosexual encounter.

Now, under the new restrictions, a four-month waiting period applies to all people after their last sexual encounter with a new partner, or a 12-month waiting period if sexual contacts have taken place with more than two partners within the last four months.

Some other European countries have no restrictions preventing men who have sexual relations with men from giving blood.
France removed additional restrictions on gay blood donors last year.

Ted: All right, that’s all for today! Thanks for tuning in to another episode of Babbel News – English Only.

We do our best to choose news stories that we think our listeners will enjoy, so if you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you! Were there any stories so far that you found particularly interesting? Or is there a certain kind of news content that you would like to hear more of? Then write an email to podcasting@babbel.com. Just make sure to write Babbel News – English Only in the subject line!

Before I let you go today, I’ve got another small reminder that Black Friday is just around the corner, and now is the perfect time to break down those barriers in the way of your language-learning journey with Babbel Live, online classes led by top-tier, expert teachers. You’ll have real-life conversations and get on-the-spot feedback while attending as many classes as you like. Plus, you’ll have full access to all of the various learning experiences in the Babbel app. Get our extra-special Black Friday offer before the end of November. You can find more details in the episode description.

Join us again next week for more world news in English. See you then!