Washington, DC – More than 80 prominent organizations from around the country joined together to kick off Blood Advocacy Week by urging Members of Congress to take key actions to support the blood supply as a national priority. The joint letter to Congress is available here. Blood Advocacy Week is an annual initiative spearheaded by America’s Blood Centers that unites stakeholders to advocate for policies that highlight the importance of blood for patients, communities, and the healthcare system.
“More than 80 organizations are coming together during Blood Advocacy Week 2024 to urge action in support of the nation’s blood supply. We write to urge your support in making our blood supply a national priority and ensuring that blood is always available for those in need. It is crucial to take key actions to strengthen and diversify America’s donor base,” wrote the organizations.
The letter urges Congress to provide federal funding for community blood centers to strengthen education and awareness efforts about blood donation, establish a program to expand pre-hospital blood transfusion, and create a demonstration program for palliative blood transfusions outside of hospice care.
Blood transfusion remains one of the most common hospital procedures, with patients requiring a blood transfusion every two seconds. More than 42,000 units of red blood cells, platelets, and plasma are used by patients every day. These blood transfusions are needed to treat patients with acute care needs such as trauma and blood loss during childbirth, as well as for disease management for patients with a variety of health conditions, including cancer, inherited blood disorders, cardiovascular and orthopedic surgeries, and organ and bone marrow transplants.
Partners taking part in Blood Advocacy Week include ADRP: The Association for Blood Donor Professionals, the American Society of Hematology, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, Centerlink, Cerus, Civil Air Patrol, the Crescent Foundation, Elks, Georgia Health Policy Center, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, HOSA Future Health Professionals, Johnson and Johnson, LifeFactors, Macopharma, National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, North Arundel County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Operation Pulse Lift, Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota, Sick Cells, Thalassemia International Federation, Terumo, the Thrive with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Organization, University Blood Initiative, and Whitman-Walker Health.
These organizations are joined by community blood centers and blood organizations across the country, including Alliance for Community Transfusion Services (ACTS), Blood Assurance, Blood Bank of Alaska, Blood Bank of Delmarva, Blood Bank of Hawaii, Blood Centers of America, Bloodworks Northwest, Carter BloodCare, Central California Blood Center, Central Pennsylvania Blood Bank, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, Coastal Bend Blood Center, Community Blood Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania & Western New York, Community Blood Center, Community Blood Center (Appleton), Community Blood Center of the Ozarks, Connecticut Blood Center, ConnectLife, Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center, Houchin Community Blood Bank, Hoxworth Blood Center, ImpactLife, Inova Blood Donor Services, Kentucky Blood Center, LIFELINE Blood Services, LifeServe Blood Center, LifeShare Blood Center, LifeSouth Community Blood Centers, LifeStream, MEDIC Regional Blood Center, Memorial Blood Centers, Miller-Keystone Blood Center, Mississippi Blood Services, National Blood Testing Cooperative, Nebraska Community Blood Bank, New Jersey Blood Services, New York Blood Center, Northern California Community Blood Bank, OneBlood, Our Blood Institute, Rhode Island Blood Center, Rock River Valley Blood Center, San Diego Blood Bank, Shepeard Community Blood Center, Solvita, South Texas Blood & Tissue, Stanford Blood Center, SunCoast Blood Centers, Texoma Regional Blood Center, The Blood Center (New Orleans), The Blood Connection, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UCI Health Blood Donor Center, Versiti, Vitalant, We Are Blood, and Western Kentucky Regional Blood Center.
Founded in 1962, America’s Blood Centers is the national organization bringing together community-based, independent blood centers. Its member organizations operate more than 600 blood collection sites providing close to 60 percent of the U.S., and a quarter of the Canadian, blood supply. These blood centers serve more than 150 million people and provide blood products and services to more than 3,500 hospitals and healthcare facilities across North America. All ABC U.S. members are licensed and regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. For more information, visit www.AmericasBlood.org.
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