The chief medical and scientific officer of the Irish Blood Transfusion Service told the group’s two-day conference that the removal of the lifetime deferral for gay men would act as a “societal good”.

Dr William Murphy told the conference that he does not anticipate that a reduction of the deferral to one or five years would lead to any discernible expansion of the donor base, he believes that the risk of HIV transmission through blood transfusion would continue to be negligible, reports The Irish Times.

“It’s going to be clear at the end, that moving to a one-year ban from a lifetime ban does not increase the risk of HIV for blood recipients. If that’s our major concern, then we’re fine,” he said.

Dr Murphy told The Irish Times that the organisation is likely to recommend a reduction on the referral – which, for men who have sex with men currently means a life-long ban – to five years, with scope for further reduction. This recommedation is expected to received the endorsement of the Department of Health, said Dr Murphy.

“I don’t think the department is going to take a separate view from anything we say. Leo Varadkar himself said that he was in favour of a one year ban and that he would consult with the department around that.

“If reducing the ban without increased risk to patients actually improves the perception among young gay men of their inclusivity in society that is a very strong good and something we should strive to achieve.”

Last year, Minister for Health Leo Varadkar told RTÉ that he was leaning towards adopting a 12-month deferral system, where men who have sex with men can only give blood if they abstain from sex for a year.

The IBTS will outline its policy on donations to its board next month before sending it to the Department of Health in June.