Bill 585.

Summary.

The bill amends Article 1 of Law 35 of May 30, 2018, to declare activities involving human blood, its components and derivatives to be matters of national interest and public order, from promotion and collection through transport, distribution and supply. It directs the State to encourage voluntary, altruistic and recurring donation and equitable, dignified access to blood. It also expands the duties of the Administrative Unit for Transfusion Medicine and Blood Services (Unidad Administrativa de Medicina Transfusional y Servicios de Sangre): planning blood availability, applying technical and scientific standards, overseeing quality and hospital committees, haemovigilance, statistics, training, collection drives and emergency preparedness. Its duties would include a confidential national register of voluntary and rejected donors for health, statistical and transfusion safety purposes; recommendations to the Technical Council (Consejo técnico), budgeting, regional blood centres and indicators for the National Blood Services Network (Red Nacional de Servicios de Sangre).

The amendment to Article 28 requires donor selection and blood collection to follow regulations and objective, technical criteria supported by scientific evidence, protecting donors and recipients. The proposed Article 58-A prohibits public and private blood services from selecting, deferring, serving or recording donors on criteria lacking a medical and scientific basis, or applying differential treatment that impairs dignity. It treats criteria outside the applicable rules or without technical support as discriminatory practices subject to administrative penalties under applicable legislation.

The new Chapter XII would allow the Ministry of Health (Ministerio de Salud) to recognize bodies that promote donation among their personnel. Companies and organizations could offer voluntary internal incentives that do not amount to payment. The bill creates the honorary, voluntary, non-profit, non-transferable and periodically renewable “Institution Committed to Voluntary Blood Donation” seal. Applicants would need programmes coordinated with health authorities or authorized blood banks, freely consenting staff participation, and respect for employment rights, medical confidentiality and personal data. Pressure to donate and workplace consequences for donating or declining would be prohibited; breach of these guarantees would cause immediate revocation of the seal. Holders could use the designation, receive public recognition and take priority in State donation campaigns, without contractual or administrative preference.

Chapter XIII proposes recognition of June 14 as International Voluntary Blood Donation Day, in accordance with the World Health Organization (Organización Mundial de la Salud), and designates June as National Voluntary Blood Donation Month. It provides for information, education, awareness activities and donation drives involving public bodies, private organizations and communities. The State could grant honorary recognition to regular donors without financial consideration. It would also promote partnerships with foundations, universities and higher education institutions, and include blood donation awareness activities in public and private schools, from early childhood through secondary education. A national digital platform could provide information, registration, scheduling, an updated calendar of donation drives and sites, answers about eligibility and care before and after donation, and protection of personal data.

Article 19 lists amendments and additions to Law 35 of May 30, 2018. The Executive Branch (Órgano Ejecutivo), through the Ministry of Health, would issue implementing regulations within one hundred and twenty days of promulgation; the proposed law would take effect the following day. Its provisions concern blood services and banks, health facilities, employers, workers, donors, foundations and educational institutions, alongside the health responsibilities of the named public bodies.