APPROVED: Lifetime Ban on Gay Blood Donation to Be Lifted in Parts of UK!

A lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men, put in place during the AIDS crisis 25 years ago is set to be lifted in England, Scotland, and Wales, though restrictions will still remain, the BBC reports:

Ministers have agreed to let men who have not had sex with another man in the past 12 months to donate from November. The restrictions were put in place in the 1980s to prevent the risk of HIV contamination. However, the latest medical evidence presented to a government panel argued the ban could no longer be justified. Ministers in the three countries accepted the argument and said they would be relaxing the rules. Northern Ireland is expected to make a decision soon.

In the U.S., men are banned by the FDA from giving blood if they have had sexual intercourse with another man at any time since 1977.