I'm not privy to the data that required the lifetime ban. I think it was that any perceived risks to the blood system were excluded. My sense, Dr. Eyolfson, is that at that time any perceived threat to the blood supply was not something that Canadians would tolerate, so CBS and Héma-Québec excluded an entire group based on the data of the day. Thankfully, we have more research to support where we are now.
On February 2nd, 2017. See this statement in context.