Ban on gay male blood donors lifted

Gay men will be able to give blood from today as government restrictions are lifted, the Department of Health said.

A lifetime ban on blood donation by men who had had sex with another man was put in place in the 1980s as a response to the spread of Aids and HIV.

But following a review by the Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto), men who have not had homosexual sex within a year will be able to donate if they meet certain other criteria.

The panel considered the latest available evidence and found it could no longer support the permanent exclusion of men who have had sex with men.