In the wake of immense public pressure, the Food & Drug Administration's (FDA) ban on blood donations from gay, bisexual and queer men took effect in the 1980s amid the AIDS epidemic in the United States. A change to blood donation rules for gay and bisexual men in Northern Ireland has been hailed as a 'substantial step towards full equality'.
John O'Doherty, Director of The Rainbow Project in Belfast donates blood at the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service headquarters at Belfast City Hospital.
