Shadow Health Secretary wants NI gay blood ban clarification

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham has called for Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt to clarify his position on the gay blood ban in Northern Ireland.

Hunt recently lodged an appeal after a judge ruled that it is up to him whether gay men should be able to donate blood.

The ban on gay men giving blood was lifted in England, Scotland and Wales in 2011, but remains in place in Northern Ireland.

In October, a judge in Belfast ruled that Northern Ireland’s Health Minister Edwin Poots’ ban is “irrational”.

Mr Burnham told BBC News that it is “surprising that Jeremy Hunt had decided to appeal this court ruling and he now needs to provide a full explanation”.

“Northern Ireland receives blood from across the rest of the UK where gay men have been donors since 2011.

The Labour MP added: “This is also a matter of equality, and gay men in Northern Ireland should have the same rights to help others by donating their blood as gay men in England, Scotland and Wales.”

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