Call to end 'offensive' gay blood donors ban

A BAN on gay and bisexual men giving blood should be overturned, MSPs are due to be told today.

Rob McDowall, a campaigner on gay rights, has branded current blood-transfusion policy "homophobic" for not accepting blood from men who have had homosexual relationships.

Mr McDowall is due to make representations to the Scottish Parliament's petitions committee, demanding an end to the ban. However, ScotBlood, the Scottish blood transfusion service, said it would not change the rules due to a higher risk of blood from gay men being infected with HIV.

The last figures held by the Office of National Statistics for HIV and Aids were recorded in 2005.

They show the number of heterosexuals with Aids outstripped the number of homosexuals from 1999. But they also revealed that 46 per cent of new HIV cases between 1996 and 2005 involved gay and bisexual men, even though they statistically represent just 5-10 per cent of the population. See Call to end 'offensive' gay blood donors ban
Scotsman, United Kingdom