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Blood‑supply groups urge committee to hold bill requiring vaccine‑status labeling; sponsors say disclosure supports informed consent
Summary
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee considered House Bill 131, which would require donation centers to note donors' self‑reported mRNA COVID vaccination status and allow patients in nonemergency cases to request labeled blood. Major blood suppliers and clinicians urged the committee to hold the bill because no laboratory test can verify vaccine material in donated blood and federal rules limit labeling to verifiable medical data.
The Senate Health and Welfare Committee heard extensive testimony on House Bill 131, which would require donation centers to ask donors about mRNA COVID vaccination status and allow patients in nonemergency situations to request blood labeled according to donors' reported vaccine history.
Representative Bruce, sponsor of the bill, framed it as an informed‑consent provision that would let patients choose labeled blood for nonemergency transfusions. "I'm not challenging the safety of the vaccination... I'm just saying that people have the right to choose," Bruce said.
Hospital and blood‑supply organizations urged the committee to hold the bill. Toni Lawson of the Idaho Hospital Association said the state already experiences periodic blood shortages and warned HB 131 could exacerbate collection and processing burdens: "Our concern is the potential for this legislation to exacerbate the blood…
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