British health officials said Thursday that they would lift a ban on gay men donating blood, as long as their last sexual contact with another man was more than a year earlier. The decision, which reverses a policy adopted in the 1980s, followed a review that found no evidence to support the need for a ban. Other countries, including Australia, Japan, South Africa, Sweden and New Zealand, also allow gay men to donate blood with similar conditions. Canada and the United States prohibit gay men from donating blood.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/09/wo...ef=todayspaper
Note: September 8, 2011