I was astonished to read recently that gays are banned from giving blood in the UK and the US because there is a supposedly higher risk of HIV-infected blood entering the blood banks.  What sort of antiquated notion is this? 

Firstly, governments need to acknowledge that HIV/AIDS is not exclusively a gay disease and heterosexuals who choose to have unprotected sex have a higher risk of contracting the disease than gays who have safe sexual practices.  Keeping this law in place, perpetuates a false myth that only gays can contract HIV.

Secondly, I thought that all collected blood is supposed to be screened prior to use.  Now, we are rumoured to live in an advanced and technologically savvy age when it is perfectly possible to test for HIV prior to the blood being used, so why can this screening not be relied upon?  

I understand that a number of governments are considering changing this law.  With the increasing demand on blood banks, it seems sensible that this is changed sooner rather than later.