H 7815Medical Services

Health and Safety - Autologous or Direct Blood Donations

This bill ensures patients can use their own blood or a specific donor's blood for upcoming medical procedures.

Introduced

Population
Affected

Introduced Feb 26, 2026Committee House Health & Human Services

Plain-English Summary

This legislation mandates that hospitals and licensed healthcare facilities in Rhode Island must allow patients to make autologous (self) or direct (specific donor) blood donations prior to a medical procedure, provided a doctor orders it and the facility performs blood donations. It requires blood banks to facilitate these orders unless the donor is medically unfit to donate. Additionally, the bill prohibits blood banks from charging more than their regular processing fees for these specific donations, although they are permitted to charge storage fees for the blood until it is used.

For younger readers

Sometimes, when people have an operation, they need extra blood. This bill says that patients are allowed to give their own blood ahead of time to be saved for their surgery. It also lets them pick a specific friend or family member to give blood just for them. Hospitals and blood banks have to say "yes" to this unless the person giving blood is too sick or too small. The bill also makes sure blood banks do not charge extra money for the donation part, though they can charge to keep the blood safe in a refrigerator.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups

Patients requiring surgeryBlood banksHospitalsHealthcare providersBlood donors

Impacted communities

All

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely

Estimated cost

None

Estimated revenue

None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints

For Progressives

Protects patients from price gouging by capping the fees blood banks can charge for directed donations to their standard rates, ensuring financial accessibility.
Empowers patients with greater bodily autonomy and control over their medical treatment plans by guaranteeing the right to choose their blood source.
Enhances health equity by ensuring that individuals with rare blood types or specific antibodies can secure compatible blood from family members or community matches.
Allows for storage fees that are not capped, which could create a financial barrier for low-income patients wishing to utilize this option compared to wealthier patients.
May strain the efficiency of the public blood supply system by diverting resources and staff time toward individual, directed donations rather than the communal pool.
Could inadvertently encourage a tiered healthcare system where specific donor requests are prioritized, potentially undermining the collectivist model of a shared, community blood supply.

For Conservatives

Protects individual liberty and medical freedom by ensuring patients have the right to decide where the blood entering their body comes from.
Strengthens family rights by allowing family members to directly support and care for their loved ones through specific blood donation.
Empowers consumers against large healthcare institutions by preventing hospitals from arbitrarily denying requests for directed blood donations.
Imposes government regulations on private businesses (hospitals and blood banks) by mandating they perform specific services regardless of their internal policies.
Interferes with the free market by placing price controls on the fees that blood banks are allowed to charge for facilitating these donations.
Expands the administrative state by granting the Department of Health new authority to promulgate rules and regulations to enforce this chapter.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 21 additions

SECTION 1. Title 23 of the General Laws entitled "HEALTH AND SAFETY" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following chapter: 23-4.15-1. Autologous or direct blood donations -- Requirements.

(a) For purposes of this section:

(1) "Autologous blood donation" means when a person donates the person's own blood for personal use during a future medical procedure.

(2) "Direct blood donation" means when a person donates the person's blood specifically for the use of another person during the other person's future medical procedure.

(b) A hospital or other healthcare facility licensed under this title 23 shall allow a person on whom a medical procedure is to be performed at the facility to donate a healthcare provider‑ordered autologous or direct blood donation before the medical procedure if the facility performs blood donations.

(c) A blood bank that facilitates autologous or direct blood donations shall comply with a healthcare provider's order prescribing an autologous or direct blood donation for a person, unless the person donating blood is in ill health, has a heart condition that makes donating blood inadvisable, the person weighs too little to donate blood, or the person cannot or should not donate blood for any other reason.

(d) A blood bank may charge not more than their regular fee to facilitate an autologous or direct blood donation ordered by a healthcare provider under subsection (c) of this section. The blood bank may charge a fee to store the donated blood until it is used by the person meant to receive it.

(e) The department of health shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary to implement this section.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.