No decision until June on blood donation ban for gay and bisexual men – TheLiberal.ie – Our News, Your Views

No decision until June on blood donation ban for gay and bisexual men




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Gay and bisexual men will have to wait until June to hear a decision on whether they can donate blood.

Previously the Irish Blood Transfusion Service imposed a “lifetime ban” on blood donations from men who were gay or bisexual.

The service is currently in talks with health experts in the UK and Canada which have switched to deferral periods in relation to this issue.

If science backs up the claims, Health minister Leo Varadkar has said that he will support a one-year deferral period.

The ban was introduced in the mid-1980s because of the spreading of HIV. Studies now show that this ban is not medically necessary.

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