Text of HI SR 42 (2021)

THE SENATE S.R. NO. 42 THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2021 STATE OF HAWAII SENATE RESOLUTION REQUESTING THE UNITED STATES FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION TO ELIMINATE ITS BLOOD DONOR DEFERRAL POLICY ON THE COLLECTION OF BLOOD AND BLOOD COMPONENTS FROM MEN WHO HAVE SEX WITH MEN. WHEREAS, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other individuals have historically been rejected as blood donors furthering the stigma, humiliation, and emotional pain experienced by some LGBTQ+ persons and perpetuating false associations between gender identity, sexuality, and disease; and WHEREAS, in 1977, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a lifetime ban on blood donation for men who have had male sexual partners (MSM); and WHEREAS, the FDA determines gender identity only by the gender assigned at birth, so this ban included transgender women with opposite-sex partners; and WHEREAS, on December 21, 2015, the FDA lifted the policy banning gay and bisexual men from donating blood and recommended a deferral on MSM and women who have sex with MSM from donating blood within twelve months after the last sexual contact; and WHEREAS, the FDA cites the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) findings that in 2010, MSM accounted for seventy-eight percent of new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections among American men, and sixty-three percent overall, as justification for its one-year deferral policy for MSM blood donations; and WHEREAS, many other high-risk groups or individuals listed within the cited CDC report do not have any restrictive deferrals put in place against them; and WHEREAS, the FDA already rigorously tests blood from donors within several days, and the one-year deferral period of MSM does not align with the testing windows for any of the disease screening methods used by blood banks; and WHEREAS, many MSM practice safe sex in the form of protected sex, monogamy, and other health-conscious practices; and WHEREAS, fifteen countries have either lifted bans and deferrals on MSM or have maintained a no-deferral or no-ban policy on MSM, including Argentina, Italy, Mexico, Peru, Poland, and Spain; and WHEREAS, in 2001, Italy changed its blood donor screening policy from a criteria-based deferral of MSM to an individual risk assessment method for all blood donors; and WHEREAS, a study on Italy's HIV rates found that the newer policy had no significant impact on HIV rates in the country; and WHEREAS, in the United Kingdom, the National Health Services Blood and Transplant authority is currently conducting research on making it possible for MSM to donate blood without a deferral in place; and WHEREAS, a study conducted in 2014 by The Williams Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law found that lifting restrictions on MSM blood donors could increase the total annual United States blood supply by two to four percent, thereby saving more lives; and WHEREAS, the consensus among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocacy groups is that the current one-year deferral period is based on fear rather than medical sciences, and that the deferral continues to stigmatize MSM by perpetuating negative stereotypes of male homosexuality; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2021, that the United States Food and Drug Administration is requested to eliminate its blood donor deferral policy on the collection of blood and blood components from men who have sex with men; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs of the United States Food and Drug Administration, Chairperson of the Blood Products Advisory Committee of the United States Food and Drug Administration, and Chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. OFFERED BY: _____________________________ Report Title: Blood Donation; Eligibility Requirements; Deferral; Men Who Have Sex With Men; United States Food and Drug Administration