The National Blood Service will not accept any blood donations from a man who's had sex with another man, even if they practice safe sex using a condom. As it stands, a heterosexual person who has consistently put themselves at risk of exposure to HIV is not given the same lifetime ban as that of a gay man, who has protected sex just once. Spain, Italy, Australia and Newzealand DON'T have a lifetime blanket ban on gay men making blood donations. People wanting to donate blood should be asked the same questions - irrespective of their sexual orrientation - that accurately and fairly assess their level of risk of infection. The current system fails to do this. Instead it stigmatises gay men by perpetuating the offensive myth that they cannot be trusted in matters of sexual health.