SR0986 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR0986 LRB100 15171 ALS 30047 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The American Red Cross says that every two seconds someone in the United States needs blood; and

WHEREAS, Recent natural disasters, like Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and human-caused tragedies, such as the mass shooting in Las Vegas, highlight the importance of blood donations to help save lives; and

WHEREAS, While an estimated 45.4 percent of men (54 million) in the United States are eligible to donate blood, only 8.7 percent of eligible men actually do; and

WHEREAS, Since 1983, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), an agency under the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), has prohibited the donation of blood by any man who has had sex with another man (MSM) at any time since 1977; and

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 had not been sexually active for the past 12 months; and

WHEREAS, Despite these recent steps toward a policy change, a double standard still exists under the policy as revised because it still treats gay and bisexual men differently from heterosexual men; and

WHEREAS, Illinois law prohibits discrimination against individuals on the basis of actual or perceived sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity; and

WHEREAS, A 12-month deferral policy for gay and bisexual men to donate blood is overly stringent given the scientific evidence, advanced testing methods, and the safety and quality control measure in place within the different FDA-qualified blood donation centers; and

WHEREAS, The American Public Health Association (APHA) has stated that no specific scientific rationale exists to justify a 12-month deferral policy; and

WHEREAS, Furthermore, the APHA's Executive Director wrote: "Instead of protecting and enhancing the nation's blood supply, a 12-month deferral represents a missed opportunity to save the lives of people in need of blood"; and

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 would result in 4.2 million newly eligible male donors, of which 360,600 would likely donate, generating 615,300 additional pints of blood; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we urge the President of the United States and the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to adopt policies to repeal the current discriminatory donor suitability policies of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regarding blood donations by men who have had sex with another man and, instead, direct the FDA to develop science-based policies, such as criteria based on behavior and not a donor's sexual orientation; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to the President and Vice President of the United States, to the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, to the Majority Leader of the United States Senate, and to each United States Senator and Representative from Illinois in the Congress of the United States.