Over 100 Organizations Launch Blood Advocacy Week 2026 Urging Congress to Make the Blood Supply a National Priority
Washington, District of Columbia, United States, June 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Over 100 Organizations Launch Blood Advocacy Week 2026 Urging Congress to Make the Blood Supply a National Priority
Urge action to support prehospital blood transfusion access for military beneficiaries, strengthen cybersecurity protections for blood centers, and modernize blood banking regulations to improve patient access
Washington, D.C. – 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.
“As the convener of Blood Advocacy Week 2026, America’s Blood Centers is proud to lead a national effort bringing together over 100 organizations across the country in support of our nation's blood supply. On behalf of the coalition, we urge you to prioritize three critical actions to ensure that blood is always available for every patient in need,” wrote the organizations to Speaker Mike Johnson, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Majority Leader John Thune, and Minority Leader Charles Schumer.
The letter urges Congress to:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
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 AABB, American Society of Hematology, American Society for Clinical Pathology, Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, American Trauma Society, BorderRAC, Centerlink, Cerus, Civil Air Patrol, the Crescent Foundation, Colorado Whole Blood Coalition, Delta Development Team, Inc., Elks, FCI Brands, GLAAD, Human Rights Campaign, HOSA Future Health Professionals, Incept Health, International Trauma Life Support, Johnson and Johnson, La Boit Specialty Vehicles Inc., LifeFactors, LifeFlow, Macopharma, National Bleeding Disorders Foundation, North Arundel County Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Incorporated, Operation Pulse Lift, Prehospital Blood Transfusion Coalition, Sickle Cell Foundation of Minnesota, Sick Cells, South Texas Regional Advisory Council, Thalassemia International Federation, Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, the Thrive with Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency Organization, Trauma Survivors Network, University Blood Initiative, University Hospital EMS in Newark, New Jersey, and Whitman-Walker Health.
These organizations are joined by community blood centers and blood organizations across the country, including ADRP: The Association for Blood Donor Professionals, 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 Blood, 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, South Texas Blood & Tissue, Stanford Blood Center, SunCoast Blood Centers, 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.
Sponsors of this week include Abbott, Cerus, Fresenius Kabi, Grifols, Healthcare-ID, Hemanext, Macopharma, Roche, Terumo Blood and Cell Technologies, and Velico.
Founded in 1962, America’s Blood Centers is the national organization bringing together community-based, independent blood centers. Its member organizations operate more than 700 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.
Lazaro Bosch America's Blood Centers 2026542901 lbosch@americasblood.org
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