The physician in charge refused the blood donation on the ground that L.
attended the French Blood Agency in Metz to donate blood. Secondly, the Author addresses the relevance to other EU member states. This short report explains the Court’s reasoning, reviewing the conformity of member states’ legislation on blood donation with EU law. Despite the member states’ exclusive competences, the EU has some limited role in terms of blood donation by setting standards of quality and safety of human blood and blood components, as established by the so-called Blood Donation Directive 2, 3. Secondly, as the Court was requested to rule on an issue that concerns the exclusive competence of individual member states: the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. The issue was delicate since such a ban categorically excludes a category of citizens from donating blood, which might be contrary to fundamental human rights such as the equal treatment and non-discrimination principle, recognised by EU law. On 29 April, 2015, the European Union (EU) Court of Justice in Luxembourg had to rule a delicate issue: to decide on a French bylaw, banning homosexuals from eligibility to donate blood on a permanent basis as their sexual behaviour may cause a high risk of acquiring severe infectious diseases, transmitted by blood 1.
