[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 15 (Thursday, January 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Page S660]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


  SENATE RESOLUTION 56--DESIGNATING JANUARY 2015 AS ``NATIONAL BLOOD 
                             DONOR MONTH''

  Ms. BALDWIN (for herself and Ms. Warren) submitted the following 
resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary:

                               S. Res. 56

       Whereas America's Blood Centers, AABB, and the American Red 
     Cross unite to designate January 2015 as ``National Blood 
     Donor Month'';
       Whereas donating 1 unit of blood helps to save as many as 3 
     lives;
       Whereas blood donors are an integral part of the health 
     system and national public health preparedness initiatives in 
     the United States;
       Whereas blood and blood products are critical national 
     resources and vital public health assets that must be readily 
     available at all times;
       Whereas every 2 seconds, a person in the United States 
     needs blood for lifesaving treatment in an emergency or a 
     disaster, a routine surgery, a blood transfusion to help 
     treat a serious disease like cancer, or an organ or bone 
     marrow transplant;
       Whereas 1 in 7 patients who enter a hospital in the United 
     States needs blood;
       Whereas more than 20,000,000 blood components are used in 
     transfusions every year in the United States;
       Whereas more than 39,000 units of blood are needed each day 
     in the United States to maintain a safe and adequate blood 
     supply;
       Whereas 9,200,000 donors give blood each year in the United 
     States;
       Whereas approximately 38 percent of the Unites States 
     population is eligible to give blood, but less than 10 
     percent of the eligible population donates blood on an annual 
     basis;
       Whereas blood transfusions require generous and altruistic 
     volunteer donors;
       Whereas it is vital that the blood donation policies, 
     including donor deferral policies, in the United States keep 
     pace with medical science to ensure that the United States 
     has a robust, eligible population of donors to maintain a 
     safe and adequate blood supply; and
       Whereas America's Blood Centers, AABB, and the American Red 
     Cross support and perform critical services collecting, 
     processing, and distributing lifesaving blood and blood 
     products to hospitals and health providers, and are 
     instrumental in ensuring the safety of the blood supply and 
     promoting the need for blood donations: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates January 2015 as ``National Blood Donor 
     Month'';
       (2) acknowledges the important role of volunteer blood 
     donors in protecting the health and emergency preparedness 
     security of the United States;
       (3) recognizes the need to promote a safe, stable blood 
     supply and to increase volunteer participation of blood 
     donors;
       (4) endorses efforts to update blood donation policies in a 
     safe and scientifically sound manner to maintain an adequate 
     blood supply; and
       (5) recognizes the roles of America's Blood Centers, AABB, 
     and the American Red Cross in ensuring the safety of the 
     blood supply in the United States and delivering lifesaving 
     blood and blood products to health providers and patients.

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