SPOKANE, Wash. — In an effort to improve emergency response and encourage blood donations, Washington state has enacted a new law allowing residents to add their blood type to their driver’s licenses.
Governor Bob Ferguson signed the legislation in May, but it went into effect on January 1.
“This bill will literally save lives in Washington state,” Ferguson said at signing.
The American Red Cross reports that the most common blood type in the U.S. is O-positive, followed by A-positive, O-negative, and B-positive. The rarest blood type is AB-negative. O-negative blood, known as the universal donor type, is crucial during emergencies.
The new law, effective January 1, allows Washington residents to have their blood type stamped on their driver’s licenses for a $2 fee. This information could expedite the blood typing process in emergencies.
“What happens is that if there is a blood type on the driver’s license, at least they can go ahead and check that particular blood type first,” Bloodworks Northwest Juan Cotto said.
To add your blood type to your license, you must bringing documentation from a medical provider to the DMV.
It’s that blood type that will be added to your identification and potentially utilized in an emergency situation.
“(Medical Professionals) could give you the exact type and they could do it really fast, because this has been bona fide by a health provider,” Senator Paul Harris said.
Whether or not Blood Type is added to driver licenses, the bill report explained that hospitals will continue their rigorous blood matching processes to ensure accuracy.
“There still going to do the tests,” Cotto said. “Then it’s going to be matched by three different professionals who were there in the hospital to make sure that the blood that the patients received is indeed their blood type.”
The legislation also aims to increase awareness about blood donation.
“This is an opportunity for us to raise awareness,” Cotto said.
Washington hospitals use more than 600,000 units of blood annually, but blood donation rates are low.
“Of the 48 percent who are eligible to donate blood right now, Red Cross numbers are saying only three are,” Cotto explained.
According to the Red Cross, many people are unaware of their blood type.
Donation is one possible means to find out your blood type.
According to the bill report, while the adjustment to your license is voluntary, it has potential benefits of saving time and better allocating blood reserves.
