The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill that promotes organ donation and allows living donors to be paid travel and other expenses related to donating an organ.
On March 7, the House passed the Organ Donation Improvement Act of 2001 unanimously--by a vote of 404 to 0--and sent the bill to the Senate. According to the Associated Press, it believed that, if the bill becomes law, it would be the first time that the government has offered financial incentives for organ donation. "This bill will increase public awareness of the organ shortage and create incentives for individuals considering organ donation. Its passage is an important step forward in our efforts to save the lives of patients in need of a transplant," said Congressman Mike Bilirakis (R-Fla.), the bill's chief sponsor.
House bill 624 appropriates $5 million for each fiscal year from 2002 through 2006 for the payment of travel and subsistence expenses and incidental nonmedical expenses of living donors who give organs to recipients who earn less than $35,000 per year. Also, payments would be made only if the donor and recipient lived in different states. The bill also allocates $15 million for fiscal year 2002 for the creation of programs by the federal government, individual states, and public and private groups to educate the public about the need for organ donation and to increase donor rates. The bill did not specify how much money would be earmarked for such programs in fiscal years 2003 through 2006.
* In related legislation, Representative Jay Inslee (D-Wash.) introduced bill 953 into the House on March 8 to provide grants for programs to improve the recovery rates for organs in public and nonprofit private hospitals. The bill, the Organ Coordination Improvement Act, was referred to the House's Committee on Energy and Commerce.
For Your Information:
To see the bills, enter bill number "HR 624" or "HR 953" at http://thomas.loc.gov. Rep. Bilirakis' statement is at www.house.gov/bilirakis/lateact.htm.
Please be aware that medical advice, diagnoses and physician references cannot be obtained from this site.