Finally (Picture: Getty Images)
A lifelong ban on gay men donating blood in Northern Ireland has finally been lifted.
The controversial rule has been scrapped following a long campaign by gay rights activists and a series of court battles over the contentious prohibition.
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England, Scotland and Wales adopted a similar ban in 2011 – however, they stated that gay men were able to give blood 12 months after their last sexual encounter with another man.
Northern Ireland has now replaced its ban with the same deferral policy.
The original ban had been retained in Northern Ireland by successive Democratic Unionist health ministers, who cited concerns about blood safety.
Freshly donated blood being placed into cool bag for transportation (Picture: Getty Images)
Donations from men who have had sex with men were banned in the 1980s in response to the AIDS crisis.
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Stormont Health Minister Michelle O’Neill, who made the decision to lift the ban, said: ‘As Health Minister my first responsibility in this matter is patient safety.
‘Surveillance data from England, Scotland and Wales and survey evidence from across Britain and the north of Ireland have provided assurance that the risk is lower with a one-year deferral.
‘My decision is based on the evidence regarding the safety of donated blood.’
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