A ban that once restricted all gay men from donating blood in the United Kingdom has been partially lifted by the Department of Health after a recent study conducted by the advisory committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs concluded that it had no reason to exclusively ban gay men from donating.

Gay men are now eligible to donate blood, but those who have had sex with another man in the past 12 months, with or without a condom, are not. The change will be implemented in Wales, England and Scotland this week, but Northern Ireland has not yet decided if it will go forward with removing the restriction.

"Our priority as a blood service is to provide a safe and sufficient supply of blood for patients," said research director of NHS Blood and Transplant Dr. Lorna Williamson in a statement. more >>

“ONE Moms,” a group of Mom bloggers selected to visit east Africa with the ONE campaign for a week this summer, met with political leaders in the White House recently to discuss foreign aid.

The ten bloggers selected for the trip to Africa and the White House have been using their social networking skills to raise awareness about a humanitarian crisis currently taking place in the Horn of Africa, caused by war, famine and drought.

The ONE Moms selected blog at websites devoted to the concerns of mothers, such as Momsrising.org, babycenter.com and coolmompicks.com. Emily McKhann, who blogs at themotherhood.com, was one of those selected and spoke with The Christian Post about her recent trip to the White House. more >>

According to a groundbreaking study published Monday in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, a leading medical journal, African women using a popular hormone shot as a contraceptive may face up to double the chance of contracting HIV.

The study was performed by University of Washington researchers and involved 3,800 couples from Botswana, Kenya, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.

The popular contraceptive is a hormone shot given every three months to prevent pregnancy, but the study showed that women using the affordable and convenient shot might also be doubling their risk of HIV infection. more >>

Ghulam Nabi Azad, Health Minister of India, has today rebuked suggestions that he said homosexuality was a disease. Azad claims he was misquoted by media after reports emerged suggesting that he had said being gay was a disease.

Among Azad’s minced words were statements in Hindu about “men who have sex with men” and the word “unnatural”.

Azad has tried to clear up his blunders by claiming he was referring to HIV as a disease, not homosexuality. The topic of HIV in Azad’s speech came about as he addressed the issue of free trade negotiations that could prevent India from producing affordable generic drugs. more >>

Nearly 20,000 unsuspecting Americans discovered they were infected with HIV because of a new aggressive testing program offered by health officials, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday.

CDC officials also estimate 20 percent of the 1.2 million people living with HIV in the United States did not know they were infected, so expanding testing is critical, the report said.

These recent test results are monumental, according to U.S. health officials. more >>

The U.N. and the U.S. have announced the launch of a new initiative, “Countdown to Zero,” that is aimed at eliminating HIV among babies by 2015.

The new project will put in place provisions to treat HIV-positive pregnant women, which it is estimated will decrease infection of newborns to under five percent.

The estimated cost of the drive is $2.5 billion, and will seek to offer the service to 15 million women, double those currently being treated. more >>