Should men who have slept with men give blood?

Many developed countries - including the UK - have a lifetime ban on blood donations from men who have ever had sex with other men, even if the encounter took place many years earlier.

It was time, they said, to consider scrapping the old policy of "indefinite deferral" and look at asking men to wait between one and five years after having sex with another man before giving blood.

A number of countries, including Argentina, Australia and Japan, have already lifted lifetime bans and allowed men to donate, on the condition that they have not had sex with another man for a year.

Victoria Sheard, policy manager at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: "The vast majority of blood services around the world do not allow men who have sex with men to give blood, although several countries, including Canada, are now examining alternatives to a lifetime ban. Read more