Senator Collins Secures More Than $850,000 for Red Cross Blood Collection & Distribution

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Susan Collins, a senior member of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, announced today that she secured $871,000 in the draft Fiscal Year 2022 Health and Human Services Appropriations bill to support the Red Cross’ blood collection and distribution.  The bill, which was officially released by the full Appropriations Committee this afternoon, must still be voted upon by the full Senate and House.

“Every two seconds, when someone in the U.S. needs blood, the Red Cross is there to meet that critical need,” said Senator Collins.  “Ensuring that the Red Cross has the equipment and facilities it needs to collect and distribute blood to hospitals literally makes the difference between life and death.  As the appropriations process moves forward, I will continue to champion this investment to help the Red Cross to continue its lifesaving mission to maintain an adequate blood supply in Maine.”

If the Fiscal Year 2022 Health and Human Services Appropriations bill is enacted into law, the Red Cross would use this funding Senator Collins requested to make critical repairs and upgrades to its biomedical facility in Portland. This facility serves as a vital hub in the statewide collection and distribution of more than 60,000 units of blood and blood products annually. Federal support, if awarded, would fund a new generator to safeguard life-saving blood products, a staging area for mobile, community-based blood drives, and parking lot repairs to maintain the integrity of their specialized transport fleet.

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