BILL NUMBER: AJR 13	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Ammiano

                        APRIL 2, 2009

   Relative to blood donation.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AJR 13, as introduced, Ammiano. Blood donation.
   This measure would request that the President of the United States
encourage, and that the Secretary of the United States Department of
Health and Human Services adopt, policies that repeal the current
discriminatory policies of the FDA regarding blood donation by gay,
bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual males.
   Fiscal committee: no.



   WHEREAS, The California State Legislature encourages
nondiscrimination against individuals on the basis of actual or
perceived sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity and
expression; and
   WHEREAS, The American Red Cross (ARC) has joined the American
Association for Blood Banks (AABB) and America's Blood Centers (ABC)
in asking for guidelines that treat all donors equally; and
   WHEREAS, The current federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
policy, passed in 1985, prohibits any man who has had sex with
another man since 1977 from donating blood for the rest of his life;
and
   WHEREAS, The AABB, ABC, and ARC, on March 9, 2006, at the Blood
Products Advisory Committee of the FDA, at a workshop titled
"Behavior-Based Blood Donors Deferrals in the Era of Nucleic Acid
Testing (NAT)," issued a joint statement affirming that they believe
that the current lifetime deferral for men who have had sex with
other men is medically and scientifically unwarranted and recommended
that the deferral criteria be modified and made comparable with
criteria for other groups at increased risk for sexual transmission
of transfusion-transmitted infections. Blood donors who are judged to
be at risk of exposure via heterosexual routes are deferred for one
year, while men who have had sex with another man even once since
1977 are permanently deferred; and
   WHEREAS, It does not appear rational to broadly differentiate
sexual transmission via male-to-male sexual activity from
transmission via heterosexual activity on scientific grounds. To
many, this differentiation is unfair and discriminatory, resulting in
negative attitudes to blood donor eligibility criteria, blood
collection facilities, and, in some cases, to the cancellation of
blood drives. The AABB, ABC, and ARC think that the FDA should
consider that the permanent deferral standard, which is seen as
scientifically marginal and unfair or discriminatory by individuals
with the identified characteristic, may motivate those individuals to
actively ignore the prohibition and provide blood collection
facilities with less accurate information; and
   WHEREAS, Blood banks in the United States routinely operate with a
short blood supply. After significant disasters or national
emergencies, the AABB, ABC, and ARC have each reported regions
operating with less than two days supply of blood. Every day, cancer
patients, people with hemophilia, and others who need regular blood
transfusions rely on a readily available supply of blood. During a
crisis, the ability to collect blood in the affected region is
compromised while the need increases. The resulting shortage could
lead to catastrophic results; and
   WHEREAS, The AABB, ABC, and ARC acknowledge the concern that
relaxation of deferral criteria may increase the number of presenting
donors who are HIV positive. However, this impact has not been
measured directly, it has only been modeled using what may be
incomplete assumptions. The blood collectors are willing to assist in
collecting data regarding the actual impact of changes in the
deferral, in order to allow for informed decisionmaking, and for the
development of additional, appropriate interventions to ameliorate
the impact; and
   WHEREAS, In summary, the AABB, ABC, and ARC believe that the
deferral period for men who have had sex with other men should be
modified to be consistent with deferrals for those judged to be at
risk of infection via heterosexual routes and that this consideration
should also be extended to donors of human cells, tissues, and
cellular and tissue-based products; and
   WHEREAS, FDA guidelines followed by blood banks throughout the
United States inadvertently discriminate against gay, bisexual,
transgender, and heterosexual males on the basis that they have had
sex with another male since 1977; and
   WHEREAS, The AABB, ABC, and ARC are required to follow the FDA
guidelines, which consequently are in conflict with state
nondiscrimination policies; now, therefore, be it
   Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the California State Legislature calls upon
the President of the United States to encourage, and the Secretary
of the United States Department of Health and Human Services to
adopt, policies that repeal the current discriminatory policies of
the FDA regarding blood donation by men who have had sex with other
men; and be it further
   Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies of
this resolution 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 House of Representatives,
to the Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United States.