[Med-privacy] SSNs & blood donors

[pmarshall]

[anon.]

Several years ago, Congress added a provision to the Internal Revenue Code
disclosure provisions (6103) explicitly allowing disclosures of donors'
address information to blood banks on the chance that a donor would be
HIV+.  These are not "wholesale" disclosures; they can only occur when a
donor has tested + for HIV/AIDS and where the bank/center has no other
information (or has bad information) on locating the donor.  As of 4 years
ago (the last time I checked) no disclosures have ever occurred under that
provision. (The program is called the "Blood Donor Locator Service.") In
any event, that's the main reason that blood centers "require" the SSN.

Here's the language of the section from the IRC:

45 USC 6103(m)(6)

(6) Blood Donor Locator Service

(A) In general

Upon written request pursuant to section 1141 of the Social Security Act,
the Secretary shall disclose the mailing address of taxpayers to officers
and employees of the Blood Donor Locator Service in the Department of
Health and Human Services.

(B) Restriction on disclosure

The Secretary shall disclose return information under subparagraph (A)
only for purposes of, and to the extent necessary in, assisting under the
Blood Donor Locator Service authorized persons (as defined in section
1141(h)(1) of the Social Security Act) in locating blood donors who, as
indicated by donated blood or products derived therefrom or by the history
of the subsequent use of such blood or blood products, have or may have
the virus for acquired immune deficiency syndrome, in order to inform such
donors of the possible need for medical care and treatment.

(C) Safeguards

The Secretary shall destroy all related blood donor records (as defined in
section 1141(h)(2) of the Social Security Act) in the possession of the
Department of the Treasury upon completion of their use in making the
disclosure required under subparagraph (A), so as to make such records
undisclosable.