Fall-off in blood donations: Lift the ban

IN the region of 8,000 new blood donors are needed by the end of this year after the number of first-time donors dropped by 20% last year compared to five years earlier, according to the Irish Blood Transfusion Service.

We have not reached a critical state yet in terms of blood donations but we are on the brink of it. That makes it all the more essential Health Minister Simon Harris moves to ensure that the lifting of a ban on blood donations by gay and bisexual men is put in place.

The lifetime ban on gay men donating blood is also being lifted in Northern Ireland. The ban on men who have sex with men from donating blood was introduced in both parts of the island in the 1980s during the height of the Aids epidemic.