Young Liberals seek end to ban on gay men donating blood in Canada

It's an issue that has been rankling some gay men for many years.

Canadian Blood Services prohibits any men who've had sex with other men at any point in the last five years from donating blood.

This is the requirement even if the gay men are monogamous and practise safe sex.

Now, the Young Liberals of Canada want this policy overturned.

"With so many lives at stake, Canada's health policy should be based on evidence—not a discriminatory outlook on sexual orientation," the group's president, Justin Kaiser, said in a news release issued today. "Expecting a particular group of Canadians to be abstinent for five years before allowing them to help save lives is a dangerous, backward, and stigmatizing policy.

"The gay blood ban ignores scientific evidence, and it needs to end."

The Young Liberals of Canada led the charge within the federal party to call for legalization of marijuana.

In a somewhat surprising move, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau endorsed the idea last year.