Northern Ireland Minister under fire over gay blood ban

Northern Ireland Minister under fire over gay blood ban

The health minister for Northern Ireland has caused outrage by refusing to lift the lifetime ban on gay men giving blood, despite the ban being relaxed in the rest of the UK.
The health minister for Northern Ireland has caused outrage by refusing to lift the lifetime ban on gay men giving blood, despite the ban being relaxed in the rest of the UK.

Democratic Union minister Edwin Poots told the Stormont assembly on Wednesday that the current position in Northern Ireland "should not be altered".
The decision was confirmed in a letter to the UUP MLA where Poots said: "The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (SaBTO) has confirmed that the risk of HIV infection would, although by a small margin, increase as a result of a relaxation in the present lifetime deferral.

"Safety must be my primary concern and I want to ensure public confidence in our blood supply."

Northern Ireland gay rights campaigner PA Mag Lochlainn told The Guardian: "I am very surprised that a minister who is a member of a unionist party should consider what is good enough for British people in the rest of the UK is not good enough for British people in Northern Ireland."

Following advice from a Government Advisory Committee, the lifetime ban on blood donation by gay and bisexual men will be eased in England, Scotland and Wales from November, so that men who have not had sex with another man in the last year are allowed to donate blood.