Despite being one of the more socially liberal countries, Iceland still has a ban on gay men donating blood. One of the chief epidemiologists in Iceland has urged the government to lift the ban on gay and bisexual men from donating blood. There is currently a total ban on men who have sex with men (MSM) from donating blood. “There are individuals in this group who are practicing safe sex, and are therefore not at risk, while there are others, with a more liberal sex life, who are more likely to spread these kinds of infections.” He added: “I believe that given what other people in Europe have done, we can leave behind a total ban and move on to having an abstinence period of some months.”