Gay blood donation ban relaxed

The Department of Health said that men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months will be able to give blood.

The lifetime ban was set up in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination, but a review of the medical evidence earlier this year suggested that the ban could no longer be justified.

Other countries, including Australia, have recently changed their restrictions so that men who have sex with other men can give blood.

The Department of Health’s Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto) reviewed the evidence over whether the ban is necessary.

It concluded earlier this year that “the evidence does not support the continuation of the ban on men who have had oral or anal sex with another man… from donating blood”.