III 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 56 

Designating January 2015 as ‘‘National Blood Donor Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 29, 2015 

Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Ms. WARREN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Designating January 2015 as ‘‘National Blood Donor 

Month’’. 

Whereas America’s Blood Centers, AABB, and the American 

Red Cross unite to designate January 2015 as ‘‘National 

Blood Donor Month’’; 

Whereas donating 1 unit of blood helps to save as many as 

3 lives; 

Whereas blood donors are an integral part of the health system and national public health preparedness initiatives in 

the United States; 

Whereas blood and blood products are critical national resources and vital public health assets that must be readily available at all times; 

Whereas every 2 seconds, a person in the United States needs 

blood for lifesaving treatment in an emergency or a dismstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

2 

•SRES 56 IS 

aster, a routine surgery, a blood transfusion to help treat 

a serious disease like cancer, or an organ or bone marrow 

transplant; 

Whereas 1 in 7 patients who enter a hospital in the United 

States needs blood; 

Whereas more than 20,000,000 blood components are used in 

transfusions every year in the United States; 

Whereas more than 39,000 units of blood are needed each 

day in the United States to maintain a safe and adequate 

blood supply; 

Whereas 9,200,000 donors give blood each year in the United 

States; 

Whereas approximately 38 percent of the United States population is eligible to give blood, but less than 10 percent 

of the eligible population donates blood on an annual 

basis; 

Whereas blood transfusions require generous and altruistic 

volunteer donors; 

Whereas it is vital that the blood donation policies, including 

donor deferral policies, in the United States keep pace 

with medical science to ensure that the United States has 

a robust, eligible population of donors to maintain a safe 

and adequate blood supply; and 

Whereas America’s Blood Centers, AABB, and the American 

Red Cross support and perform critical services collecting, processing, and distributing lifesaving blood and 

blood products to hospitals and health providers, and are 

instrumental in ensuring the safety of the blood supply 

and promoting the need for blood donations: Now, therefore, be it 

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3 

•SRES 56 IS 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) designates January 2015 as ‘‘National 

3 Blood Donor Month’’; 

4 (2) acknowledges the important role of volun5 teer blood donors in protecting the health and emer6 gency preparedness security of the United States; 

7 (3) recognizes the need to promote a safe, sta8 ble blood supply and to increase volunteer participa9 tion of blood donors; 

10 (4) endorses efforts to update blood donation 

11 policies in a safe and scientifically sound manner to 

12 maintain an adequate blood supply; and 

13 (5) recognizes the roles of America’s Blood 

14 Centers, AABB, and the American Red Cross in en15 suring the safety of the blood supply in the United 

16 States and delivering lifesaving blood and blood 

17 products to health providers and patients. 

Æ 

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