BLOOD FOR THOUGHT

There are calls today for the National Blood Service to re-think its policy on gay and bisexual men.

Currently, the service excludes men who have sex with other men from donating blood as they are seen as a high-risk portion of the population. As they may be more likely to catch diseases such as HIV.

This has been met with criticism though. Sam Douthwaite, President of Nottingham Trent University's NTU Pride society, reckons the rule is discriminatory.

He said: "I think it's a heavily outdated policy. It's simply ridiculous - they are discriminating against a part of the population for no good reason.

"AIDS is just as likely to come from other people as it is from gay and bisexual men. And it isn't fair to discriminate and marginalise us purely based on the fact of who we have sex with."

Craig Taylor, spokesperson for the Blood Service says this is to make sure the blood used in hospitals is safe though.

"Statistically, men who have sex with men are more likely to contract blood borne diseases such as HIV. Therefore we ask them not to give blood.

"The guidelines are in place to exclude high-risk groups so that we can make sure the blood is safe."