Panel hears bill to allow optional, verified blood type on Washington driver ID

Senators and witnesses told the House Transportation Committee on March 19 that Senate Bill 5,689 would let Washington residents opt to include a verified blood type on driver licenses or identicards, an addition proponents said could speed care in emergencies and help raise public awareness about blood donation.

The bill would allow an applicant to include their blood type on a state-issued driver license or identicard if they provide documentation from a licensed physician, medical facility or blood donation organization. The Department of Licensing would have rulemaking authority to set documentation and process requirements and could impose a one-time administrative fee not to exceed $2 for initial processing. The bill is written to take effect Jan. 1, 2026; staff identified a one-time information-technology cost of $72,000 in fiscal year 2026 to modify driver-licensing systems to accept and display the new designation.

Supporters in public testimony said the designation is voluntary and could give first responders and trauma teams quick access to a verified clue about a patient’s blood type. Juan Cotto, director of government affairs for Bloodworks Northwest, told the committee that “every day, blood donation saves lives,” and in trauma situations “every second matters.” Cotto said the change would not replace hospital testing but could allow medical teams to check a verified blood type faster than starting with universal donor blood.

Angel Montez, testifying for the American Red Cross, described the measure as a privacy-respecting, voluntary step that could “provide a simple yet effective tool to help first responders and medical teams act quickly when it’s needed.” Montez said the bill’s amendment making the $2 administrative fee a one-time charge makes the option “accessible and cost effective.”

Sponsor remarks emphasized the bill’s simplicity and optional nature. “At your option for $2 you can have your blood type put on your license,” said Senator Paul Harris, who sponsored the amendment; he added, “I think it could be very important to you and I hope you will consider that and pass this good little bill.”

Committee members asked about safety and accuracy. Witnesses and staff repeatedly said the presence of a blood-type designation would not change hospital procedures: hospitals would still perform tests and typically begin emergency transfusions using universal donor blood (for example, O negative) until cross-matching confirmed compatibility. In response to a question about license errors, Cotto said the license designation “is nothing that happens in a hospital in an emergency procedure” and stressed that hospital safeguards and testing remain in place.

Witnesses also pointed to public-awareness benefits. Cotto said Washington hospitals require more than 600,000 units of blood annually and that many eligible donors do not give; allowing people to list a blood type on ID could open conversations about donation. Testimony noted that Illinois and Virginia have voluntary programs of varying design and that other states are considering similar steps.

The Department of Licensing staff briefed the committee that the change would require modifications to the driver-licensing system to add a blood-type field and to create a new revenue account for the administrative fee; the department’s fiscal summary listed the $72,000 one-time cost for those IT changes in fiscal year 2026.

The committee closed public testimony on SB 5,689 and moved to the next bill on the agenda; no final committee action on the bill was recorded in this hearing.