Hillsborough County, Florida, et al. v. Automated Medical Laboratories, Inc. (471 U.S. 707)

U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 3, 1985 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)

Citation
471 U.S. 707 · 105 S. Ct. 2371
Decided
June 3, 1985
Term
October Term 1984
Vote
9–0
Majority author
Justice Marshall
Issue area
Federalism
Disposition
Reversed and remanded
Outcome
Petitioning party won
Ideological direction
Conservative

Opinion excerpt

Justice Marshall delivered the opinion of the Court. The question presented is whether the federal regulations governing the collection of blood plasma from paid donors pre-empt certain local ordinances. t — I Appellee Automated Medical Laboratories, Inc., is a Florida corporation that operates, through subsidiaries, eight blood plasma centers in the United States. One of the centers, Tampa Plasma Corporation (TPC), is located in Hillsborough County, Florida. Appellee’s plasma centers collect blood plasma from donors by employing a procedure called plasmapheresis. Under this procedure, whole blood removed from the donor is separated into plasma and other components, and “at least the red blood cells are returned to the donor,” 21 CFR § 606.3(e) (1984). Appellee sells the plasma to pharmaceutical manufacturers. Vendors of blood products, such as TPC, are subject to federal supervision. Under § 351(a) of the Public Health Service Act, 58 Stat. 702, as amended, 42 U. S. C. § 262(a), such vendors must be licensed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Licenses are issued only on a showing that the vendor’s establishment and blood products meet certain safety, purity, and potency standards established by the Secretary. 42 U. S. C. § 262(d). HHS is authorized to inspect such establishments for compliance. § 262(c). Pursuant to § 351 of the Act, the Food and Drug…

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