I 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5317

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction from 

gross income for the donation of blood. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

OCTOBER 8, 2004

Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Ways and Means 

A BILL

To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a 

deduction from gross income for the donation of blood.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Relief for Life-Saving 

5 Blood Donors Act of 2004’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 The Congress finds that—

8 (1) each year over 4.5 million Americans need 

9 a life-saving blood transfusion, and the daily demand 

10 for blood is 38,000 units; 
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1 (2) the Mayo Clinic reports that about 25 per2 cent of all Americans will need a blood transfusion 

3 at least once in their life; 

4 (3) the Mayo Clinic also reports that only 5 

5 percent of eligible Americans (about 8.8 million peo6 ple) donate blood every year; 

7 (4) according to the American Association of 

8 Blood Banks, the average donor is a college-edu9 cated white male, between the ages of 30 and 50, 

10 who is married and has an above-average income; 

11 (5) these ‘‘average’’ statistics are currently 

12 evolving to reflect increasing blood donations from 

13 women and minority groups; 

14 (6) persons 69 years and older account for 10 

15 percent of the population but need 50 percent of 

16 whole blood and red blood cell transfusions; 

17 (7) many blood banks have found that it is safe 

18 for seniors to donate blood; 

19 (8) the National Blood Data Resource Center 

20 reports that seasonal and regional blood supply 

21 shortages are not uncommon, and a shortage of red 

22 blood cells may occur if transfusion demands con23 tinue to rise and collection efforts cannot keep up 

24 the pace; 
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1 (9) a major national trauma, such as an out2 break of disease, a natural disaster, or a terrorist at3 tack, could dramatically affect the blood supply; 

4 (10) a single blood donation can help as many 

5 as three people; 

6 (11) blood cannot be manufactured and can 

7 only come as a gift from people; and 

8 (12) the American Red Cross and other blood9 donation organizations urge people to give blood 

10 three times a year. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

12 It is the sense of Congress that—

13 (1) all Americans should donate blood three 

14 times a year, as per the recommendation of the 

15 American Red Cross, as this simple task saves mil16 lions of lives each year; 

17 (2) blood donation is as valuable as other dona18 tions, such as organs, tissue, and bone marrow, and 

19 blood donors should be applauded for their commit20 ment; 

21 (3) employers should allow workers to take time 

22 off of work, without a loss of pay or time, to donate 

23 blood; and 

24 (4) employees should be encouraged to partici25 pate in employer-sponsored blood drives. 
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1 SEC. 4. DEDUCTION FOR BLOOD AND PLASMA DONATION. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Part VII of subchapter B of chap3 ter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to 

4 additional itemized deductions for individuals) is amended 

5 by redesignating section 224 as section 225 and by insert6 ing after section 223 the following new section: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 224. BLOOD AND PLASMA DONATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEDUCTION ALLOWED.—In the case of an indi9 vidual, there shall be allowed as a deduction for the tax10 able year an amount equal to $50 multiplied by the num11 ber of times during such year the taxpayer makes a quali12 fied blood donation. 

13 ‘‘(b) LIMITATION.—The amount allowed as a deduc14 tion under subsection (a) for a taxable year shall not ex15 ceed $150 ($300 in the case of a joint return). 

16 ‘‘(c) QUALIFIED BLOOD DONATION.—For purposes 

17 of this section, the term ‘qualified blood donation’ means 

18 the donation of blood or plasma at a blood bank center 

19 or blood-collection institution which is recognized by the 

20 Secretary (in consultation with the Secretary of Health 

21 and Human Services) and which provides receipts for each 

22 donation.’’. 

23 (b) DEDUCTION ALLOWED WHETHER OR NOT INDI24 VIDUAL ITEMIZES OTHER DEDUCTIONS.—Subsection (a) 

25 of section 62 of such Code is amended by inserting after 

26 paragraph (19) the following new paragraph: 
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1 ‘‘(20) BLOOD AND PLASMA DONATION.—The 

2 deduction allowed by section 224.’’. 

3 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

4 for part VII of subchapter B of chapter 1 of such Code 

5 is amended by striking the last item and inserting the fol6 lowing new items:

‘‘Sec. 224. Blood and plasma donation. 

‘‘Sec. 225. Cross reference.’’.

7 (d) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

8 this section shall apply to taxable years beginning after 

9 the date of the enactment of this Act.

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