Quigley Highlights Importance of Blood Safety Procedures and Fair Donor Policies During LifeSource Tour
CHICAGO — Today, U.S. Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05), Vice-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus, visited a LifeSource blood bank in Rosemont, IL to learn more about blood safety, procedures, processing and how new policies are impacting the blood donor community.
“It is imperative that we prioritize the highest level of blood product safety while also promoting a fair and equitable blood donor policy for all donors wanting to help save lives,” said Rep. Mike Quigley. “I thank LifeSource for today’s tour and the opportunity to learn more about the transfusion medicine practices and procedures used to connect Chicagoans with quality health care. In Congress, I will continue to push for updated blood donor policies that are based on science and individual risk factors instead of fear, so that we do not prevent healthy Americans from donating to life-saving centers like LifeSource.”
“We are very pleased that Congressman Quigley visited our facilities and took time out of his busy schedule to learn more about blood donation,” said LifeSource Regional Executive Director, Eva Quinley. “Giving blood is a selfless act. Human blood cannot be substituted, and every day, lives are saved in our community because of the generosity of our blood donors.”
Rep. Quigley visits the LifeSource Processing Lab in Rosemont, IL and discusses supply procedures and safety with Manager of Product Manufacturing Kathy McKibben.
Rep. Quigley discusses new blood policies with Regional Executive Director Eva Quinley.
Rep. Quigley views questionnaires and standard blood-giving procedures for donors with staff member Camille Lemaich and Marketing Lead Kodi Khadivar at the LifeSource Donor Center in Norridge, IL.
Since 1987, LifeSource has provided the Chicago area with a responsible and reliable source for donor recruitment, blood collection, component manufacturing, testing and product management. They have 18 community donor centers located throughout Chicagoland, three of them in Illinois’ Fifth Congressional District. After the Pulse Nightclub Massacre this past June, LifeSource spoke to the Chicago Tribune about blood processing and shipped a large amount of blood to Orlando for victim support.
In June 2016, Rep. Quigley led a bipartisan letter signed by over 100 House colleagues calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Robert M. Califf to end the blood donation deferral policy for men who have sex with men (MSM) once and for all. The current policy, effective May 23, 2016, prohibits individuals from donating blood if they have engaged in male-to-male sexual contact in the past 12 months. Rep. Quigley also led a bipartisan, bicameral push, urging HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell to reevaluate the discriminatory, inconsistent blood, organ and tissue donation policies for MSM.
Since his election to Congress in 2009, Rep. Quigley has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ community. Rep. Quigley currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and is a founding member of the Transgender Equality Task Force. He has hosted numerous Equality Caucus briefings around the “economics of equality,” which explore economic equality in the LGBTQ community and how Congress can better address this critical issue. In the fall of 2009, Rep. Quigley was inducted into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame for his work as a Cook County Commissioner to extend benefits to LGBT employees.