News brief: House honors living organ donors
News brief
House honors living organ donors
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation in early March to boost organ donation rates and provide grants to living organ donors. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced similar legislation in the Senate, but it has yet to vote on the bill.
Included in the House legislation are noncontroversial portions of a broader bill that originally passed the House in 1999. The bill later stalled in the Senate. The primary goal of the failed legislation was to overturn a controversial regulation to require a national waiting list for available organs.
A new contract between Richmond, VA-based United Network for Organ Sharing and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services settled a fight between the two groups. The new legislation will authorize the payment of transportation and living expenses of individuals donating a kidney or portion of a liver, or any other organ to low-income recipients. Payments would be made from annual grants of $5 million.
The other provision provides grants to states, starting with $15 million in the first year, to improve public awareness and expand outreach efforts to increase organ donation.
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