The Rhode Island State House is looking more and more like a place where good legislation goes to die. How else can one explain why it didn’t pass a bill that would safely increase our blood donor population?

The Rhode Island House of Representatives passed a bill that would allow healthy 16-year-olds to give blood, but the State Senate never acted on the proposal.

The bill, which is now in limbo, would get healthy youngsters into the life-saving habit of giving blood at a younger age. Just as bad habits that start younger are harder to drop, virtues begun at a younger age are more likely to stick with us.

Frank Prosnitz, the Community Relations Director for the Rhode Island Blood Center, called the initiative, which is stalled in the Senate, “essential” in that it will build a new generation of blood donors.

While the blood center isn’t currently experiencing any shortages, the fact that only 5percent of people donate blood, but 70-percent of people need blood at least one time in their lifetime remains.

Whether or not that donation rate is enough to meet our needs is up for debate, but clearly Rhode Islanders can do better than that. By allowing 16-year-olds to legally donate blood, the blood center would not only see a spike in donations but would also cultivate a larger number of habitual donors.

Anyone who doubts the effectiveness of getting youngsters involved in blood donation should look no further than our four high schools.

The seventeen and eighteen-year-olds in our city schools (Pilgrim, Toll Gate, Vets, and Hendricken) donated a collective 752 pints of blood last year. One pint of blood has the potential to save three lives. That means our students potentially saved 2256 lives!

Pilgrim boasted the state’s highest number of blood donations from a school with a whopping 281 pints donated. While the school should be proud for winning the contest, every youngster who donated blood should hold their head high for their life saving contributions.

Prosnitz points out that a good number of those students will appreciate the fact that they’ve done a great deed for their community, and continue donating on a regular basis.

Increasing the number of students donating by decreasing the age limit they can begin donating at will only save additional lives, and equally important, insure that we have a steady stream of donors for decades into the future. Hopefully the state legislature will realize this fact and take action.