IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 989 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that blood donation 

policies in the United States should be equitable and based on science. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 1, 2020 

Mr. SCHIFF (for himself, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. 

OCASIO-CORTEZ, Mr. PAPPAS, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. 

HAALAND, and Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

blood donation policies in the United States should be 

equitable and based on science. 

Whereas, in 1983, the Food and Drug Administration 

(FDA), an agency under the Department of Health and 

Human Services (HHS), prohibited the donation of blood 

by any man who has had sex with another man (MSM) 

at any time since 1977; 

Whereas, in December 2015, based on recommendations from 

the HHS Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability, the FDA promulgated revised regulations to allow an MSM to donate blood only if he has not 

been sexually active for the past 12 months; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 989 IH 

Whereas despite these steps, a double standard remained as 

the revised policy continued to treat gay and bisexual 

men differently from others; 

Whereas, on April 2, 2020, the FDA issued guidance for immediate implementation to address the urgent and immediate need for blood and blood components; 

Whereas the FDA has changed the recommended deferral period for MSM donors from 12 months to 3 months; 

Whereas a 3-month deferral policy for gay and bisexual men 

to donate blood remains overly stringent given the scientific evidence, advanced testing methods, and the safety 

and quality control measures in place within the different 

FDA-qualified blood donating centers; 

Whereas the Williams Institute of the University of California 

at Los Angeles School of Law estimates that, based on 

the population of eligible and likely donors among the 

MSM community, lifting the Federal lifetime deferral policy on blood donation by an MSM could result in as 

many as 4,200,000 newly eligible male donors, of which 

360,600 would likely donate and generate 615,300 additional pints of blood; 

Whereas the increased uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis 

(PrEP), which reduces the likelihood that an HIV-negative individual will acquire HIV, has allowed many more 

gay and bisexual men to be aware of their HIV-negative 

status and take steps to effectively eliminate their personal risk of HIV transmission; 

Whereas more than 4,000 blood drives across the United 

States have been canceled due to the COVID–19 pandemic, resulting in approximately 130,000 fewer donations; 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 989 IH 

Whereas maintaining an adequate blood supply is vital to 

public health; 

Whereas the American Red Cross estimates that every 2 seconds, someone in the United States needs blood; 

Whereas the American Medical Association has stated that 

the ethical ideal for public policy in this area should be 

to transition away from policy that defers categories of 

persons based on attributing to all members risks associated with a population and toward policy that defers individual donors on grounds of evidence-based risk assessment; 

Whereas Congress directed the Secretary of HHS to carry 

out an initiative to improve awareness of the importance 

and safety of blood donation and the continued need for 

blood donations during the COVID–19 public health 

emergency, through passage of the CARES Act; 

Whereas numerous Federal officials, including Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams and the HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Brett Giroir, have publicly encouraged people to donate blood during the COVID–19 pandemic; 

Whereas people who have fully recovered from COVID–19 for 

at least 2 weeks are encouraged to consider donating convalescent plasma, which contains antibodies against the 

virus; 

Whereas convalescent plasma is being evaluated as treatment 

for patients with serious or immediately life-threatening 

COVID–19 infections, or those judged by a health care 

provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or 

life-threatening disease; and 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 989 IH 

Whereas the FDA is in the process of again reevaluating and 

considering updating its blood donor deferral policies as 

new scientific information becomes available, including 

the feasibility of moving from the existing identity-based 

deferrals related to group risk behaviors to alternate deferral options, such as the use of individual risk assessments: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that policies governing blood and blood prod3 uct donation in the United States should— 

4 (1) be grounded in science; 

5 (2) minimize deferral periods; 

6 (3) be based on individual risk factors; 

7 (4) not unfairly single out any group of individ8 uals; and 

9 (5) allow donations by all those who can safely 

10 do so. 

Æ 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS