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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 56 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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 disaster, 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
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) designates January 2015 as ``National Blood Donor 
        Month'';
            (2) acknowledges the important role of volunteer blood 
        donors in protecting the health and emergency preparedness 
        security of the United States;
            (3) recognizes the need to promote a safe, stable blood 
        supply and to increase volunteer participation of blood donors;
            (4) endorses efforts to update blood donation policies in a 
        safe and scientifically sound manner to maintain an adequate 
        blood supply; and
            (5) recognizes the roles of America's Blood Centers, AABB, 
        and the American Red Cross in ensuring the safety of the blood 
        supply in the United States and delivering lifesaving blood and 
        blood products to health providers and patients.
                                 <all>
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