It’s being called the BYOB bill.
In this case, though, it stands for Bring Your Own Blood. And the driving force, at least in part, is concern about donor blood contaminated by vaccines.
Except in emergencies, HB400, sponsored by freshman Rep. Kristen Chevrier, R-Highland, would require hospitals to let patients supply their own blood for transfusions and surgeries — either blood collected before procedures or from specific donors, rather than a blood bank.
“Comfort, personal choice is a benefit,” Chevrier said in an interview. “I think a lot of people are careful about what kind of foods they eat, and, if you’re careful about what you eat, you probably would be careful about what you put in your body otherwise, and I think this is just a personal preference.”
Companies that gather the blood would have to comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s regulations for collection, storage and testing.
“It’s not going to the kitchen and putting it in a quart jar,” Chevrier said. “... If I were choosing, I would choose the most healthy people I know. I’d look for healthy friends, healthy friends who eat well and exercise and do all the things to try to keep themselves well. That’s how I would do it.”
In 2023, the FDA issued an advisory that said there is no evidence these “directed blood donations” — whether they are done to select for vaccination status, sex, sexual orientation or religion — are safer than blood from a bank and cautioned consumers against signing up for services that tout the benefits.
America’s Blood Centers, the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies, and the American Red Cross issued a joint statement reiterating the safety of the nation’s blood supply in response to misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines. The organizations said the vaccine does not replicate in the blood, does not change the chemical makeup of the donated blood and found no medical reason to choose directed donations.
Chevrier, who has been outspoken about not inoculating her youngest children, acknowledged that worries about vaccines in blood were part of her motivation for the measure.
Before winning her House seat, Chevrier was the executive director of Your Health Freedom, a group that warned against the dangers of COVID vaccines; fought against inoculation requirements imposed by employers, churches and schools; and advocated for intravenous vitamin C as a coronavirus treatment.
She also previously started an organization aimed at educating parents about their rights not to vaccinate their kids.
Earlier this session, Chevrier supported a bill that asserts international organizations like the World Health Organization and United Nations have no authority in Utah and warns that those groups have an agenda aimed at “total biosurveillance of humans and animals and digital passport programs that masquerade as choice,” references to conspiracy theories about organizations plotting to control the population.
Chevrier said she had a friend whose daughter had a congenital heart defect and was scheduled for a surgery, but had to travel to Florida and stay for five weeks to accommodate the family members’ wishes to use blood from their own donors.
In the end, the lawmaker said, the surgery was not needed.
Chevrier said she wants Utahns to have the option to use their own blood or blood from chosen donors without having to travel. In addition, she said, allowing such directed donations might entice more patients to come to Utah to have surgeries.
Under Chevrier’s measure, hospitals would not be liable if any issues arise from the donor blood.
Francis Gibson, president of the Utah Hospital Association, said the sponsor has been good to work with medical centers to ensure that when patients store their own blood, there is enough time between the blood draw and the scheduled surgery that the patient’s blood supply is replenished.
“I think we’re at a spot now,” Gibson said, “where we’re going to be fine with the bill.”
The measure was released publicly Tuesday and was sent Thursday to the House Health and Human Services Committee, where Chevrier is a member. A hearing has not been scheduled.
