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UPDATE: 4/15/2024 - HB 163 died, it failed to be referred to a standing committee by the House Committee on Committees before the session ended on 4/15/2024.
HB 163 was introduced and referred to the House Committee on Committees on 1/5/2024. The bill is sponsored by Representative Jennifer Decker, Rep. Emily Callaway, Rep. Stephanie Dietz, Rep. Daniel Fister, Rep. David Hale, Rep. Mary Beth Imes, Rep. DJ Johnson, Rep. Matt Lockett, Rep. Shawn McPherson, Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, Rep. Rebecca Raymer, Rep. Nancy Tate, Rep. Timmy Truett, and Rep. Richard White.
HB 163 requires donated blood to be tested for COVID-19 antibodies and spike protein and labeled as such. The bill also requires blood donors to wait for specified periods post COVID-19 vaccination and infection before donating blood.
HB 163 amends section 2 of KRS 214.452 related to blood donation establishment inspection, donor conditions, forms, and signs to include mandatory testing of all donated blood for COVID-19 antibodies, nanoparticles, and spike protein. This section of the bill also adds a new inquiry requirement on the donor history questionnaire about the potential donor’s COVID-19 or any other mRNA vaccine status, including the manufacturer name of the COVID-19 vaccine the donor received. Based on the risk factor history and donor consent form, the blood donation establishment staff shall require of the donor the following guidelines summarized as follows:
4 (a) A donor shall wait at least two (2) weeks after having received a live attenuated COVID-19 vaccine before the donor may donate blood. If the donor does not know the manufacturer of the COVID-19 vaccine the donor received, the donor shall wait at least two (2) weeks from the day the donor received the vaccine before the donor may donate blood;
(b) A donor shall wait ten (10) days following a diagnosis of COVID-19 or displaying any signs and symptoms of COVID-19 before the donor may donate blood; and
(c) A donor who received an inactivated or mRNA based COVID-19 vaccine shall have no deferral requirements unless otherwise required by law.
HB 163 also amends Section 3 of KRS 214.452 related to blood establishments, inspection fees, donor conditions, forms, and sign posting to include COVID-19 laboratory test results information on the collected blood label to conform with Section 2 of this bill.
HB 163 is well-intentioned as it creates a system for inquiry, testing, labeling, and deferring donor blood as it relates to the presence of COVID-19 disease, COVID-19 vaccine, and other mRNA vaccine donor history or presence in the blood. Still, it fails to protect informed consent and the ability to refuse for the blood product recipient. An improvement to HB 163 would be to give blood recipients a choice to receive blood from an individual who was never vaccinated for COVID-19 or other mRNA-based vaccines and to establish the duty to inform the recipient of all COVID-19 or mRNA-based vaccine byproducts identified in the donor history questionnaire or the testing and the labeling of donor blood process. There is not sufficient evidence to support the donation deferral timeline of two (2) weeks proposed in this bill for a live attenuated COVID-19 vaccine and ten (10) days post COVID-19 infection or symptoms. Additionally, HB 163 suggests that there shall be no deferral requirement for donors who received an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine. This is a concern as there is not sufficient evidence to support the idea that donor blood is unaffected after an mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and donation deferral time is not required.
https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/24rs/hb163.html - text, status, and history of HB 163
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