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Married couple Tyler McNeil and Steven Smillie will now be able to donate blood thanks to the new rules starting today A SCOTTISH LGBT equality charity has welcomed changes in blood donation rules, which will remove the deferment period for some gay and bisexual men from donating blood and replace it with an individual risk assessment regardless of sexual orientation. The policy, taking effect on World Blood Donor Day, will allow thousands of gay and bisexual men to donate for the first time. The changes, which come into effect across Britain now and Northern Ireland later in the year, mean UK blood services will now assess donor eligibility on a person-by-person basis instead of applying across-the-board restrictions.