Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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489. To ask the Minister for Health when the amended policy regarding deferral of blood donations by men who have sex with men will be implemented; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39960/16]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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490. To ask the Minister for Health if he will review the requirement for a 12-month deferral period for blood donation by men who have sex with men in view of the fact that there is no such deferral period in other jurisdictions such as Italy, Poland, Spain, Portugal, Ukraine, Russia, South Africa, Latvia, Bulgaria, Mexico and Peru; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39961/16]

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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491. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to extend an equal 12-month blanket deferral policy for sexually active heterosexual blood donors in view of the rapid rise in HIV diagnoses in this population and the possibility of HIV infection of heterosexual blood donors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39962/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 489 to 491, inclusive, together.

At present the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS) imposes a lifelong ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood.

In June of this year, I accepted a recommendation from the IBTS that (a) the deferral policy for men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood should be reduced to a period of one year following their last sexual encounter with a man and (b) all donors who have had a sexually transmitted infection (STI) should be deferred from donating blood for a period of at least five years from that infection. A similar one year deferral policy has been adopted by the UK, US, Canada, Finland, New Zealand, the Netherlands, France and Australia. This change will come into effect before the end of January 2017.

The IBTS will continue to keep all deferral policies under active review in the light of scientific evidence, emerging infections and international experience.