In April 2025, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) closed the program that monitors our nation's blood supply for bloodborne infections.

 

The last time we didn't have this program operational, hundreds of thousands of Americans contracted HIV and Hepatitis, causing death, disability, suffering, loss of productivity in the workplace, and avoidable healthcare costs. Watch the documentary Bad Blood.

 

On April 8, 2025, over 90 organizations joined with the American Society of Hematology to speak out. This got very little press coverage, apparently no response from governmental officials and even less response from the general public.

 

In September 2025, 30 advocates from all over the country convened in Washington, D.C. to meet with their Congresspersons after calls, letters and emails to DHHS went unanswered. We respectfully and hopefully await action by our federal government. But we can't stay quiet--our lives are at risk!

 

Who this Affects

• Military
• Law enforcement
• People with cancer
• Burn victims
• People with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD)
• People with bleeding disorders like von Willebrands Disease (vWD) and Hemophilia
• Anyone who needs a blood transfusion--maybe YOU or a loved one

 

This is a Five Alarm Fire

Our entire nation's blood supply is at risk right now. Here is what CDC’s Division of Blood Disorders and Public Health Genomics did for Americans:

1. Blood product safety monitoring to avoid transmission of deadly HIV, hemophilia and other serious bloodborne infections.  

2. Critical data collection, outreach, and education programs are necessary to inform best practices, reduce cost and extend lifespans of people living with SCD.

3. Educate and promote prevention of blood clots, currently killing  100,000 Americans per year, causing avoidable costs, disability and loss of productivity in the workplace.

4. Make cost-saving improvements for the approximate 1% of Americans with hemophilia, von Willebrands Disease and other bleeding disorders, and educational outreach to healthcare providers.

 

 

The Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability was also closed. I spoke with a person who was on the committee for years; he received a letter stating the committee was terminated. The HHS website states:

 

"The federal Advisory Committee on Blood and Tissue Safety and Availability (ACBTSA) advises, assists, and makes recommendations to the Secretary of HHS, through the Assistant Secretary for Health, on issues related to the safety of blood, blood products, organs, and tissues. For solid organs and blood stem cells, the Committee’s work is limited to policy issues related to donor-derived infectious disease complications of transplantation. The Committee consists of 23 voting members who represent a diverse group of health professionals, patient advocates, and scientists; representatives from blood, tissue and organ professional organizations; and relevant manufacturing and healthcare organizations. In addition, there are 8 non-voting ex-officio members from HHS agencies and the Department of Defense."

 

See for yourself: The HHS website shows there are no meetings scheduled.