Over 100 leading organizations from across the nation have united to kick off Blood Advocacy Week 2026, calling on Members of Congress to take decisive action in supporting the blood supply as a national priority.
The letter to Congress is available here.
Blood Advocacy Week, an annual initiative led by America’s Blood Centers, unites stakeholders to advocate for policies that highlight the importance of blood for patients, communities, and the healthcare system.
The letter urges Congress to:
- Support prehospital blood transfusion access for military beneficiaries by supporting report language in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) directing the Department of Defense to update TRICARE payment policy to remove financial barriers, enabling broader adoption of prehospital blood transfusions and strengthening care for servicemembers, veterans, and their families.
- Strengthen the cybersecurity protections for the blood community by supporting robust funding for
the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and ensuring blood centers are
explicitly included in federal efforts to strengthen health care information technology infrastructure
against malicious actors. - Modernize blood banking regulations to improve patient access by streamlining licensure for new
donation sites, modernizing testing requirements to reflect current testing technology, maximize
platelet donations available for patient care, and increase flexibility in plasma regulation.