SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KNX) — Amid a critical, nationwide blood supply shortage, Assemblymember Freddie Rodriguez (D- 52nd District) introduced new legislation this week (AB-1709) that would – among other things – provide Californians who donate blood, plasma, or platelets with a sizable tax credit.
To qualify for the $500 net credit, a taxpaying donor would need to give blood at least four times in one calendar year. The credit would apply for tax years beginning January 1, 2023.
The bill paints the bleak reality of what the American Red Cross has called our nation's "worst blood shortage in over a decade."
“Doctors are forced to choose which patients will receive care from available stock and which patients will have to wait until donation levels increase,” the proposed legislation reads.
“It is alarming that California has reached crisis level in its blood supply,” said Assemblymember Rodriguez, adding, "The solution is simple: those who can donate blood, should."
Following up that sentiment with a tweet, Rodriguez urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to "end its donor eligibility restrictions based on sexual orientation."
Currently, U.S. law requires gay or bisexual men to abstain from sex for at least 90 days before they are eligible to donate — even if the person is HIV negative. Previously, federal law banned the demographic from giving altogether. However, the Biden administration has said it would push the FDA to review that criteria, examining the facts, not fiction or stigma.
AB 1709 would also encourage the California Office of Emergency Services to find private sector partners to provide other incentives that may motivate people to donate, reducing the possibility of future blood shortage crises.
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