I just read an interesting story out of Illinois.
New legislation in Illinois would allow individuals receiving blood donations to know whether they’re receiving blood from an individual vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine or another mRNA vaccine.
From Epoch Health:
“Bill HB 4243 introduced on Nov. 29 by Illinois state Rep. Jed Davis, amends the Illinois Clinical Laboratory and Blood Bank Act and would require blood banks to test donated blood for evidence of COVID-19 vaccines and other mRNA components, including lipid nanoparticles and spike protein—and requires a blood donor to disclose during each donor screening process whether they have received a COVID-19 vaccine or any other mRNA vaccine during their lifetime.
Additionally, the bill imposes labeling requirements for blood or blood components that test positive for evidence of a COVID-19 vaccine or other mRNA vaccine component or were obtained from a donor who received a COVID-19 vaccine or other mRNA vaccine.
“HB4243 does not criminalize individuals who donate blood if they’ve received a COVID-19 vaccine. It merely allows people receiving blood products to know whether the blood they’re receiving came from a vaccinated individual and requires blood blanks to add this information to product labels so that patients can make informed decisions.”
Of course the powers that be are against this idea.
The Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, America’s Blood Centers, and the American Red Cross do not believe COVID-19 vaccines pose a risk to patients receiving blood transfusions. In a joint statement issued on Jan. 26, the three organizations said there is no “scientific evidence that demonstrates adverse outcomes from the transfusions of blood products collected from vaccinated donors and, therefore, no medical reason to distinguish or separate blood donations from individuals who have received a COVID-19 vaccination.”
Only two disagreements with the above proclamations. Is there “no scientific evidence” because none has been looked for? A true scientific study would involve randomization and follow-up. If this has been done, I do not see the highfalutin blood organizations quoting such a study.
Secondly, it has not been nearly long enough to determine if there will be any adverse outcomes from the blood taken from vaccinated donors.
In a practical sense, how big a deal would it be to ask one additional question of donors? … “Have you received a Covid vaccine?”
For the vast majority of us who have been Covid vaccinated, as a blood recipient, this additional question would be of no import, but for some of us, it could be quite important.
What I find especially interesting about the idea encompassed in
HB 4243 is that it is coming out of Illinois, of all places!
12/15/23