On April 29, 2015, the Court of Justice of the European Union (the Court) ruled in Geoffrey Léger v. Ministre des Affaires sociales, de la Santé et des Droits des femmes and Établissement français du sang that permanently barring men who have had sex with other men from donating blood may be justified under a European Union Directive under certain conditions.  According to the press release, the state must “establish[] whether those persons are at a high risk of acquiring severe infectious diseases, such as HIV, and that there are no effective detection techniques or less onerous methods for ensuring a high level of health protection for recipients.”  In considering whether such a ban would violate the principle of non-discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, the Court noted “that any limitations on the exercise of the rights and freedoms recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU may be imposed only if they are necessary and genuinely meet objectives of general interest recognised by the EU or the need to protect the rights and freedoms of others.”  The Court left it to France’s national court to determine if the actions taken by the government in this instance were proportional to the goal of reducing the risk of sexually transmitted disease.