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 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 290 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 290

    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

                             April 1, 2021

 Mr. Schiff (for himself, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Ms. Lee 
of California, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Clark of Massachusetts, Ms. 
 Ocasio-Cortez, Mr. Pappas, and Mr. Torres of New York) 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 of 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, 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 despite the modifications made in 2020, a double standard remains, as 
        the revised policy continues to treat gay and bisexual men differently 
        from others;
Whereas gay and bisexual men of color experience intersecting, compounded 
        discrimination in health care settings across the United States;
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 the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of thousands of 
        blood drives across the United States, reduced the rate of blood 
        donations, and posed long-term threats to the Nation's blood supply;
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; 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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