Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed into law March 18 lowering the blood donation age to 16.

Earlier this month, the House of Representatives and Senate passed the bill, which lowers the blood donation age from 17 to 16 if the person obtains written permission from a parent or guardian.

The bill was the idea of Blooming Prairie High School student Joe Gibson who was turned away from giving blood at a high school blood drive because the state’s age requirement was 17. Gibson wanted to give blood after seeing his grandfather’s energy increase after blood transfusions during cancer treatments.

Several other states already allow 16-year-olds to donate including: California, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Oregon, Washington and Puerto Rico.

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Patti Fritz, DFL-Faribault, and Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato.