THE NEW Assembly Health Minister Michelle O'Neill MLA has announced she is to repeal the lifetime ban on gay men giving blood donations.

The Sinn Féin MLA said she is instructing the NI Blood Transfusion Services (NIBTS) that the new policy will come into effect from 1 September.

“My first responsibility in this matter is patient safety,” Michelle O'Neill (pictured) said, adding that evidence from across Britain “has provided assurance that the risk is lower with a one-year deferral. My decision is based solely on the evidence regarding the safety of donated blood."

The ban on donations for men who have had sex with men (MSM) was put in place at the height of the 1980s AIDS crisis.

Former DUP Health Minister Edwin Poots fought a costly legal battle to keep the gay blood ban in place after it was dropped in England, Scotland and Wales in 2011. A High Court judge found the continuation of the ban in the north of Ireland is “irrational” and said it appeared Poots's stance was prejudiced by his religious views. However, this ruling was later dismissed by the Appeal Court.

Sinn Féin's Health Spokesperson Daithí McKay MLA welcomed the move:

“It goes without saying that we need to have robust screening of blood. However, everyone should be encouraged to give what could be life-saving blood regardless of their sexual preference,” he said.

In the South, Sinn Féin's Health and LGBT spokespersons have told An Phoblacht that they are calling on Health Minister Simon Harris to follow the lead given by Michelle O'Neill in the North and end the discriminatory practice.

Health Spokesperson Louise O'Reilly TD said:

“We understand that this has been recommended by a conference of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service but it requires the sanction of the Minister for Health.”

Sinn Féin spokesperson on LGBT Rights Senator Fintan Warfield TD (pictured) said:

“Until today, men who have had sex with men have been denied outright the opportunity to play their role in giving one of the most precious gifts, blood.

“The sentiment of the existing ban in the South is entirely disingenuous and conveys a homophobic overtone. The ban on gay men donating blood is a throwback to the 1980s.

“Gay blood is good blood. This is another step forward for equality, we need the harmonisation of rights and entitlements across the island including marriage equality in the north.”