04/13/2026
Last week, representatives from Rhode Island Blood Center testified before the Senate Labor and Gaming Committee in support of Senate Bill 2928, legislation aimed at removing a major barrier to blood donation.
Introduced by Lammis J. Vargas, the bill would provide full-time employees up to four hours of paid leave each year to donate blood. Senator Vargas shared powerful personal testimony about how blood transfusions saved her life, highlighting the real impact of a strong blood supply and the need for donors.
Hunter Shaffer, Vice President of Blood Operations at Rhode Island Blood Center, testified on behalf of our organization and the patients it serves. He noted that RIBC provides nearly 100,000 blood products each year to more than 50 hospitals and healthcare partners across New England, while also pointing out our challenges, including a sustained decline in donor participation since the COVID-19 pandemic and the fact that only about 3% of eligible Americans donate.
The bill received unanimous committee support, an encouraging step toward making donation more accessible and helping ensure patients have blood when they need it most.
