Title: Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that blood donation policies in the United States should be equitable and based on science.
Policy area: Health

Summary:
This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that blood donation policies should be grounded in science, minimize deferral periods, and allow donations by all those who can safely make them.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 989 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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;
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;
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
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
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives that 
policies governing blood and blood product donation in the United 
States should--
            (1) be grounded in science;
            (2) minimize deferral periods;
            (3) be based on individual risk factors;
            (4) not unfairly single out any group of individuals; and
            (5) allow donations by all those who can safely do so.
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