Resolution — H. RES. 989, Blood Donation Policies Should Be Equitable and Based on Science (House)
Summary
H. RES. 989 was submitted in the House of Representatives on June 1, 2020, by Schiff, for himself and others, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that blood donation policies in the United States should be equitable and based on science. Its preamble refers to the Food and Drug Administration and to the Williams Institute estimate of 4,200,000 newly eligible male donors. It resolves that policies on blood and blood product donation should be grounded in science, minimize deferral periods, be based on individual risk factors, and not unfairly single out any group of individuals.
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“Resolution — H. RES. 989, Blood Donation Policies Should Be Equitable and Based on Science (House).”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/bills-bills-116hres989ih-bills-116hres989ih/
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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 Com-
merce
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 Safe-
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ty and Availability, the FDA promulgated revised regula-
tions to allow an MSM to donate blood only if he has not
been sexually active for the past 12 months;
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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 im-
mediate implementation to address the urgent and imme-
diate need for blood and blood components;
Whereas the FDA has changed the recommended deferral pe-
riod 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 sci-
entific 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 pol-
icy 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 addi-
tional pints of blood;
Whereas the increased uptake of pre-exposure prophylaxis
(PrEP), which reduces the likelihood that an HIV-nega-
tive 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 per-
sonal risk of HIV transmission;
Whereas more than 4,000 blood drives across the United
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States have been canceled due to the COVID–19 pan-
demic, resulting in approximately 130,000 fewer dona-
tions;
•HRES 989 IH
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Whereas maintaining an adequate blood supply is vital to
public health;
Whereas the American Red Cross estimates that every 2 sec-
onds, 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 associ-
ated with a population and toward policy that defers indi-
vidual donors on grounds of evidence-based risk assess-
ment;
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 Gen-
eral Dr. Jerome Adams and the HHS Assistant Sec-
retary for Health Dr. Brett Giroir, have publicly encour-
aged people to donate blood during the COVID–19 pan-
demic;
Whereas people who have fully recovered from COVID–19 for
at least 2 weeks are encouraged to consider donating con-
valescent 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
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provider to be at high risk of progression to severe or
life-threatening disease; and
•HRES 989 IH
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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 de-
ferral options, such as the use of individual risk assess-
ments: Now, therefore, be it
1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep-
2 resentatives that policies governing blood and blood prod-
3 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 individ-
8 uals; and
9 (5) allow donations by all those who can safely
10 do so.
Æ
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•HRES 989 IH
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