Why We Must Act: 

There is no substitute for blood. No laboratory can manufacture this life-saving resource - America's volunteer blood donors are, quite literally, irreplaceable.&nbsp;

This reality underscores the vital importance of our nation's volunteer blood donors and the pressing need to strengthen and diversify our blood donor base.

But our blood supply and blood centers face challenges today, and it's critical that Congress act. Blood donors, community members, and more than 80 national organizations are coming together during Blood Advocacy Week 2025 (June 9th-13th)to advance policies that support blood donation in America.&nbsp;

You can help - just a few minutes of your time can help improve blood donation policies and save lives.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Urge Congress to Take Action to Support Blood Advocacy Week 2025

Action to Support the Blood Supply Can Improve Patient Care and Save Lives

Blood donors, community members, and more than 80 organizations are coming together during America’s Blood Centers’ Blood Advocacy Week 2025 to advocate in support of the blood supply. I write to urge your support in making our nation’s blood supply a national priority and ensuring that blood is always available for those in need. 

First, we urge Congress to ensure federal insurance programs provide sufficient reimbursement for pre-hospital transfusions. A blood transfusion given as soon as possible following a traumatic injury has been proven to save lives. One study found up to 5% increased odds of mortality for every minute of delay in access to blood. Despite these findings, significant barriers currently prevent the expansion of pre-hospital blood transfusions. For example, Medicare payments are insufficient to support the use of blood by Emergency Medical Services (EMS) providers. Making long-term reforms would allow more patients to receive life-saving blood products before reaching a hospital, saving more lives. To achieve this, I am asking you to introduce legislation to allow Tricare to cover pre-hospital blood transfusions.

Second, we urge Congress to encourage the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to revoke the 2024 Lab Developed Test (LDT) final rule and exempt blood center LDTs from any new regulatory reforms. Blood centers have developed and utilized LDTs that are lifelines in urgent, life-saving situations. The quality and validity of these tests are already ensured by a comprehensive regulatory framework including compliance with extensive FDA regulatory requirements, state specific requirements, and accreditation standards. Yet, despite these safeguards, in May 2024, the FDA issued a final rule subjecting in vitro diagnostic products to additional regulatory burden. This rule when implemented will affect LDTs utilized by blood centers, potentially impacting critical, life-saving procedures. 

Third, we urge Congress to introduce legislation to provide funding to support blood centers in protecting themselves from cyber-attacks. As technology becomes more integrated into the health care system, blood centers need more help preventing cyber-attacks that can cripple the surrounding health care system. The security of the blood supply is not only important for the health care system, but also a matter of national security. A cyber-attack can impact a blood center’s ability to both collect donations and distribute blood to hospitals. 

Finally, we encourage you to urge FDA to reduce the red tape that costs blood centers time and money without any commiserate benefit in terms of safety or improved access for patients. Indeed, these burdens limit the ability of blood centers to adapt to the changing needs of patients and health care providers. The most pressing and impactful regulatory relief is the modernization and simplification of the licensure process to conform to the modern realities of blood center operations.

I appreciate your attention to this critical matter and eagerly await your prompt reply. Together, let’s make strengthening America’s blood supply a national priority.

Urge Congress to Take Action to Support Blood Advocacy Week 2025

Action to Support the Blood Supply Can Improve Patient Care and Save Lives

Message

Dear Office Holder (names will be automatically added on each email),