America’s Blood Centers (ABC) has published its 2024 Advocacy Agenda. The federal legislative and regulatory priorities that are most important to community blood centers are reflected within the 2024 ABC Advocacy Agenda which also includes clearly defined legislative and regulatory solutions that will guide the work of the association on behalf of its member blood centers. The 2024 ABC Advocacy Agenda has been developed in consultation with the ABC Board of Directors, Policy Council, and input from member blood centers. It will guide the work of the association on behalf of its member blood centers as ABC continues to urge the Administration, Congress, and industry stakeholders to promote the value of blood to patients, communities, and the healthcare system through the 2024 ABC Advocacy by:
- ensuring patient access to blood by streamlining product licensure;
- increasing the number of blood donors nationwide through the funding of local awareness programs;
- ensuring blood transfusions are available to patients when and where they need blood;
- supporting a robust donor base by prioritizing blood donation as a national imperative through the establishment of targeted federal initiatives to support increased diversity in the donor base; and the establishment of funding research on the predictive social and psychological factors in blood donor motivation to attract and retain donors;
- committing federal resources in support of the vital role of blood in the healthcare system by exploring federal funding mechanisms to facilitate implementation of mandated safety and technological measures by regulators, increasing federal resources for data gathering, collection, and utilization of blood components as needed, and advocating for programs and funding that increase surge capacity of the nation’s blood supply; and
- reducing unnecessary and burdensome regulation to support innovation and blood product availability by applying evidence-based decision making to U. S. Food and Drug Administration testing requirements, revisiting regulator policy on the acceptance of international data for use in the approval of new products or technologies, lowering the U.S. platelet content requirement (PCR) to expand platelet availability and alignment with international standards, and implementing a rational and flexible approach to the regulation of plasma products, advocating regulators for licensure of recovered plasma to give blood centers the ability to convert plasma from transfusable to further manufacture without requiring expiration for more effective blood inventory management.
ABC thanks its members and partners who have and continue to help advance the priorities and work of independent community blood centers through the 2024 ABC Advocacy Agenda.
