Poots: Gay blood ban decision for Jeremy Hunt Edwin Poots has said the decision on gay men giving blood in Northern Ireland now lies with UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, following a recent judgement at the High Court. A judge last week found that the health minister did not have the power to keep an "irrational" lifetime ban on gay men giving blood in Northern Ireland. Mr Poots was speaking to BBC Northern Ireland health correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly.