Organ donation overhaul promises to save lives

Although it may not make front-page headlines, a bill recently passed by a key congressional committee aims to change a flawed system and help extend the gift of life to more American families.

At a recent markup, the House Energy and Commerce Committee unanimously passed legislation to change the criteria for paying expenses associated with organ transplantation. Specifically, the bill stipulates that organ procurement organizations or transplant centers receiving federal grants cannot consider the income of organ recipients when reimbursing organ donors’ expenses.

Sadly, an average of 17 people die every day because they did not receive a lifesaving transplant.

Organ donors go to great lengths, sacrificing their time and potentially affecting their health, to give the gift of life to others. The least we as a people can do is make sure that donors do not suffer financial hardship from making that sacrifice — a principle that should apply regardless of who ends up receiving the donor’s organ.

This legislation would continue bipartisan efforts to reform and improve the organ donation system, to increase the number of life-saving transplants performed every year. For instance, in December 2019 the Trump administration proposed expanding the scope of reimbursable expenses to include lost wages and childcare expenses during a donor’s recovery. The recent legislation echoes the principle behind the Trump proposal that individuals should not incur financial losses due to their gracious decision to donate organs.

Likewise, both the Trump and Biden administrations have taken actions to modernize the organ procurement organizations that coordinate transplants across the country. By encouraging more organ donations, and more efficiently using the organs already available, one study found that reforms could save 25,000 lives every year, while reducing taxpayer costs for people awaiting transplants.

My experience as a mother of a child with cystic fibrosis and a former member of the National Council on Disability illustrated the need to reform the organ donation system. I recognize that my daughter one day could require an organ transplant, making her one of the more than 103,000 individuals on the waiting list for a donor organ. Behind that list are even more friends and family members agonizing as a loved one struggles and grows sicker while waiting. Sadly, an average of 17 people die every day because they did not receive a lifesaving transplant.

That’s why this legislation, cosponsored by Reps. Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.) and Suzan DelBene (D-Ore.), would have such an important impact, particularly for people on transplant waiting lists and their families. I hope that House Republican leaders will bring the bill to the floor shortly so that it can pass, that Senate Democrats will do the same, and that President Biden will sign the legislation into law.