France could loosen its ban on gay men giving blood after the European court of justice ruled in favour of adopting less restrictive measures than excluding all gay men who have ever had sex.

France’s ban on gay men giving blood has been criticised by rights groups as discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation. Any potential male blood donor in France who admits ever having had sex with a man is automatically and permanently banned from giving blood. The ban came into force in 1983 because it was deemed that gay men were more likely than other groups to have HIV.

The ECJ has ruled that EU governments may be justified in banning gay men from donating blood but only under strict conditions. The court found that France’s law was “liable to discriminate against male homosexuals on the basis of sexual orientation”, which is against EU policy. Read More