Blood donor ban on gay men is flawed

THE criteria used to determine who may or may not give blood are flawed, as Dr William Murphy, national medical director of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, pointed out recently.

The absolute ban on gay men donating blood risks stigmatising individuals in a certain category and precludes the potential valuable addition of new, infection-free blood donors.

This is why students in colleges throughout the country are calling for a thorough re-evaluation of the criteria for donating blood.