European Court of Justice justifies some bans on donated gay blood

Lifetime bans on gay men donating blood may be justified as long as authorities have no access to "less onerous" methods of keeping blood supplies free from sexual infections, according to a ruling from the EU's highest court.

In a judgment on Wednesday, the European Court of Justice said that banning sexually active gay men from donating blood can "minimise" the risk of diseases such as HIV entering the blood supply.

But the court declared that lifetime bans on gay men donating blood were only justifiable if there were no other "less onerous" means - such as accurate testing for HIV - of ensuring that the blood supply is not tainted.

The case stems from a complaint by Geoffrey Leger, whose blood was refused by French authorities in 2009 because he had engaged in sexual relations with another man.

The French government has considered altering its rules on blood donations from gay men. Marisol Touraine, the French minister for social affairs, has supported a change that would replace the current ban on sexually active gay men with a restriction based on sexual behaviour.

Safety measures surrounding blood donations are a particularly contentious issue in France. In 1999, three ministers were charged with manslaughter following the deaths of five people in the 1980s who had been given HIV tainted blood. Although two ministers - including former prime minister Laurent Fabius - were acquitted, former health minister Edmond Herve was convicted but not punished.

Gay rights groups have long argued that banning gay men from donating blood is unfair and possibly illegal. In many countries, such as the UK, the bans were introduced during the Aids epidemic of the 1980s.

France argued that the ban was justified. Nearly all HIV infections between 2003 and 2008 were the result of sexual relations, with gay men accounting for just under half of all new infections. As a result, the HIV infection rate is much higher among gay men than their heterosexual peers, according to the court.

In a previous opinion, the court had called on French authorities to introduce a more thorough examination of the sexual behaviour of blood donors, with questions ranging from whether the sex was protected or the "stability" of the donor's relationship.

The court ruled that limits on the Charter of Fundamental Rights, which bans discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, can be imposed only if they "protect the rights and freedoms of others".

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