Finland's parliamentary ombudsman Riitta-Leena Paunio says the Finnish Red Cross blood transfusion service's policy that sex between men is a permanent impediment to donating blood should not be considered unlawful. Paunio's statement, released on Monday, added that she had based her decision on expert opinions, reports NewsRoom Finland. "These statements contain appropriately reasoned epidemiological information to the effect that sex between men clearly increases the risk of contracting serious blood-transmitted diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis B and C, and thereby increases the safety risk in blood transfusion," it said. "The ombudsman emphasises that the ban is not due to sexual orientation, which enjoys constitutional protection against discrimination, but rather to sexual behaviour."