,,iv  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,h4 ,,res4 #ihi  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of
 ,,representatives  ,june #a1 #bjbj,mr4 
,schiff 7for himself1 ,mrs4 ,carolyn ,b4
 ,maloney of ,new ,york1 ,ms4           
,ocasio-,cortez1 ,mr4 ,pappas1 ,mr4     
,quigley1 ,ms4 ,lee of ,california1 ,ms4
 ,haaland1 and ,ms4 ,clark of           
,massachusetts7 submitted the following 
resolution2 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
 science4  ,whereas1 in #aihc1 the ,food
 and ,drug ,administration 7,,fda71 an  
agency under the ,department of ,health 
and ,human ,services 7,,hhs71 prohibited
 the donation of blood by any man who   
has had sex with another man 7,,msm7 at 
any time since #aigg2 ,whereas1 in      
,december #bjae1 based on               
recommendations from the ,,hhs ,advisory
 ,committee on ,blood and ,tissue       

,safety and ,availability1 the ,,fda    
promulgated revised regulations to allow
 an ,,msm to donate blood only if he has
 not been sexually active for the past  
#ab months2 ,whereas despite these      
steps1 a double standard remained as the
 revised policy continued to treat gay  
and bisexual men differently from       
others2 ,whereas1 on ,april #b1 #bjbj1  
the ,,fda issued guidance for immediate 
implementation to address the urgent and
 immediate need for blood and blood     
components2 ,whereas the ,,fda has      
changed the recommended deferral period 
for ,,msm donors from #ab months to #c  
months2 ,whereas a #c-month deferral    
policy for gay and bisexual men to      
donate blood remains overly stringent   
given the scientific evidence1 advanced 
testing methods1 and the safety and     
quality control measures in place within
 the different ,,fda-qualified blood    
donating centers2 ,whereas the ,williams
 ,institute of the ,university of       
,california at ,los ,angeles ,school of 

,law estimates that1 based on the       
population of eligible and likely donors
 among the ,,msm community1 lifting the 
,federal lifetime deferral policy on    
blood donation by an ,,msm could result 
in as many as #d1bjj1jjj newly eligible 
male donors1 of which #cfj1fjj would    
likely donate and generate #fae1cjj     
additional pints of blood2 ,whereas the 
increased uptake of pre-exposure        
prophylaxis 7,pr,e,p71 which reduces the
 likelihood that an ,,hiv-negative      
individual will acquire ,,hiv1 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  
transmission2 ,whereas more than #d1jjj 
blood drives across the ,united ,states 
have been canceled due to the           
,,covid-#ai pandemic1 resulting in      
approximately #acj1jjj fewer donations2 
,whereas maintaining an adequate blood  
supply is vital to public health2       
,whereas the ,american ,red ,cross      

estimates that every #b seconds1 someone
 in the ,united ,states needs blood2    
,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          
assessment2 ,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-#ai public 
health emergency1 through passage of the
 ,,cares ,act2 ,whereas numerous        
,federal officials1 including ,surgeon  
,general ,dr4 ,jerome ,adams and the    
,,hhs ,assistant ,secretary for ,health 
,dr4 ,brett ,giroir1 have publicly      
encouraged people to donate blood during
 the ,,covid-#ai pandemic2 ,whereas     

people who have fully recovered from    
,,covid-#ai for at least #b weeks are   
encouraged to consider donating         
convalescent plasma1 which contains     
antibodies against the virus2 ,whereas  
convalescent plasma is being evaluated  
as treatment for patients with serious  
or immediately life-threatening         
,,covid-#ai infections1 or those judged 
by a health care provider to be at high 
risk of progression to severe or        
life-threatening disease2 and ,whereas  
the ,,fda is in the process of again    
reevaluating and considering updating   
its blood donor deferral policies as new
 scientific information becomes         
available1 including the feasibility of 
moving from the existing identity-based 
deferrals related to group risk         
behaviors to alternate deferral options1
 such as the use of individual risk     
assessments3 ,now1 therefore1 be it     
,that it is the sense of the ,house of  
,representatives that policies governing
 blood and blood product donation in the

 ,united ,states should-- 7#a7 be       
grounded in science2  7#b7 minimize     
deferral periods2  7#c7 be based on     
individual risk factors2  7#d7 not      
unfairly single out any group of        
individuals2 and  7#e7 allow donations  
by all those who can safely do so4