H.R. 624 authorizes the Secretary to award grants or contracts to states, transplant centers, qualified organ procurement organizations (OPOs) or other public or private entities for payment of travel and subsistence expenses incurred by living donors or their family members, or other incidental nonmedical expenses related to donation that the Secretary determines appropriate. Payment may only be made if the donor resides in a different state than the recipient and the recipient's annual income does not exceed $35,000. Payment may not be made if expenses are covered under any state compensation program, Federal or state health benefits program, insurance policy, or prepaid health service. The bill also requires the Secretary to educate the public, directly or through grants or contracts, on organ donation. Grants may be awarded to states to carry out education and outreach activities provided that the recipient state establishes yearly benchmarks for improvement in donation rates, develops or expands its donor registries, and reports annually to the Secretary on the use of the funds it has received. The Secretary may also make grants to public and nonprofit private entities to carry out studies and demonstration projects to provide for an adequate rate of donation. Finally, the bill requires the Secretary to annually submit to Congress a report on activities carried out under this bill describing how they have affected the rate of donation. Sponsors: Mr. Bilirakis (for himself, Mr. Barrett, Mr. Upton, Mr. Brown of Ohio, Mr. Ehrlich, Mrs. Thurman, Mr. Waxman, Mr. Pallone, Mr. Deutsch, and Mr. Wynn); Additional sponsors: Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Kind, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Burr of North Carolina, Mr. Deal of Georgia, Mr. Sessions, Mr. Cantor, Mr. Bentsen, Mr. Camp, Mr. Green of Wisconsin, Ms. CcCarthy of Missouri, Mr. Kleczka, Mr. Lucas of Kentucky, Mr. Snyder, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Green of Texas, Mr. Kennedy of Rhode Island, Mr. Gordon, Mr. Hansen, Mrs. Morella, Mr. Stark, and Mr. Ney

Gift of Life Congressional Medal Act of 2001
H.R. 708/S. 325

H.R. 708/S. 325 requires the Secretary of the Treasury to design and strike a bronze medal to commemorate organ donors and their families. The HHS Secretary is required to direct the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) contractor to establish an application procedure for relevant OPOs to submit documentation and to evaluate eligibility for receipt of medals. One medal per family for each donor will be presented by the HHS Secretary. The Secretary of the Treasury may enter into an agreement with the OPTN contractor to collect funds for this purpose, not more than 5% of which may be used to cover administrative costs. A 1-time amount, not to exceed $55,000, and to be paid back in full within 3 years, shall be provided to the OPTN contractor to cover start-up costs. Sponsors: HR 708 - Mr. Stark; S. 325 - Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Dewine, Mr. Durbin, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. Thurmond)

Organ Coordination Improvement Act
H.R. 953

H.R. 953 would amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants to eligible hospitals or qualified OPOs for the purpose of assisting such entities in carrying out programs to coordinate the activities of eligible hospitals that relate to seeking organ donations, including coordination with qualified organ procurement organizations under section 371, in order to make progress toward the goal of increasing the rate of organ donation for the eligible hospitals with respect to which such grants are made. The Secretary would be required to provide for annual evaluations of these programs, directly or through contracts, and to submit an annual report to Congress summarizing such evaluations. Of the money appropriated under this bill, 50% is to be reserved for hospitals, and 50% for qualifying OPOs. Sponsors: Mr. Inslee (for himself, Mr. Spence, and Mr. Cantor)

Organ Donor Enhancement Act
H.R. 955

H.R. 955 requires the Secretary to establish and maintain a National Living Organ Donor Registry to increase transplants to biologically unrelated individuals. The Registry will establish a system for finding living donors for unrelated recipients, provide for patient and donor advocacy and case management, annually update information on changes in status of potential living donors, carry out a program for recruitment of living donors, and provide for informational and educational activities. The Registry will be under the direction of a board of directors that will include patients, donors, recipients, transplant centers and other individuals selected by the Secretary. Sponsors: Mr. Inslee

Help Organ Procurement Expand Act of 2001
H.R. 2090

H.R. 2090 would allow a tax credit of $2,500 for a qualified donor or his/her family. Qualified persons include a living donor, the beneficiary of a deceased donor or his/her estate. Qualified donation would not apply to physician-assisted suicides, donations from an unborn child or fetus that was aborted, donors who committed suicide or from whom legal consent has not been obtained, living donors for whom the donation entails an unacceptable level of medical risk, eligible individuals who have been indicted, convicted or are under criminal investigation for a felony against the donor, or eligible individuals who have either authorized the withdrawal of life-sustaining medical treatment from the donor, or have medically conducted or assisted in the operation to recover the organ. Sponsors: Mr. Smith of New Jersey

Motor Donor Act
H.R. 2645/S. 788

H.R. 2645/S. 788 would create a National Organ and Tissue Donor Registry that will establish procedures to increase the number of individuals registering their intent to be donors, support state efforts to designate donors through the state driver's license application process, and launch an aggressive education campaign on donation via a public-private partnership with state registries. The national registry will consist of a database listing names and other information on individuals who have expressed an intent to be donors, and it will be a registry of intent that is not legally binding for consent, except as provided by state law. Individuals will have the right to cancel their participation. The bill authorizes the Secretary to award grants to states, not to exceed $300,000, to implement state registries associated with drivers' licenses and provide for linkages with the national registry. The Secretary shall assign each OPO a password to promptly access the national registry 24-hours each day, and shall disseminate to all U.S. citizens residing in the U.S. who have filed a Federal income tax return, a pamphlet containing information on donation. Finally, the bill creates an advisory task force on organ and tissue donation which will conduct a study and submit a report on recommendations to improve the national registry and increase public awareness on donation. This Task Force shall offer to partner with the Coalition on Donation to incorporate an outreach campaign on the national registry into the Coalition's national awareness campaign. Sponsors: H.R. 2645 - Mr. Boswell; S. 788 - Mr. Schumer

To amend the Public Health Service act with respect to qualified organ procurement organizations (Placed on the Calendar in the Senate)
H.R. 3504/S. 1833

H.R. 3504/S. 1833 would amend the Public Health Service Act to require recertification of qualified organ procurement organizations (OPOs) not more frequently than once every 4 years. Recertification shall rely on outcome and process performance measures that relate to organ donor potential. An appeal of a decertification to the Secretary is provided. The bill also requires procedures to obtain payment for non-renal organs provided to transplant centers, defined service areas of sufficient size to assure maximum procurement and equitable distribution of organs, a director and staff who include donation coordinators and procurement specialists, and a board of directors or advisory board that has the authority to recommend policies for the procurement of organs. Sponsors: H.R. 3504 - Mr. Burr of North Carolina; S. 1833 - Ms. Collins (for herself, Mr. Dodd, and Mr. Frist)

Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act (Introduced in the Senate)
S. 1949

S. 1949 requires the Secretary to establish an inter-agency task force on organ donation and research, chaired by the Surgeon General. The purpose of this task force is to improve the coordination and evaluation of federally supported or conducted organ donation efforts and policies, and basic, clinical, and health services research that includes preservation techniques, rejection and compatibility. The task force will submit an annual report. The bill requires the Secretary to award peer-reviewed grants to public and non-profit private entities, including states, to carry out studies and demonstration projects to increase donation and recovery rates, including living donation, that may include removal of financial disincentives to donation and, research on presumed consent. The Secretary shall also develop and disseminate model curricula, together with the OPTN, to train health care professionals, religious leaders, funeral directors, law enforcement and other officials, in methods to approach patients and their families on donation. The Secretary may conduct up to 3 demonstration projects to examine methods to reduce economic barriers to donation, and shall review and evaluate a report by the President's Council on Bioethics on this issue amd submit his findings to Congress.

The bill authorizes the Secretary to award grants to qualified OPOs to coordinate activities of eligible hospitals to increase the rate of donations, provided that the entity awarded shall contribute at least 30% of the grant amount. The bill also requires the Secretary, acting through the HRSA Administrator and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Director, to develop scientific evidence related to evaluation research, evidence-based clinical practice guidelines, a uniform clinical vocabulary for organ recovery, necessary information technology and telecommunications support, enhanced skill levels of the procurement workforce, organ recovery, preservation, and transportation technologies. Access to this scientific evidence shall be provided to the procurement workforce.

The bill further requires the Secretary to enter into a contract with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) to evaluate organ donation practices of OPOs, states, other countries and other organizations. The IOM is tasked with examining existing barriers to donation, best donation and recovery practices that include presumed consent and state registries expressing consent, and is required to submit a report to the Secretary within 18 months, recommending administrative actions and applicable legislation. The Secretary is also required to enter into a contract with the IOM charging the latter with evaluating and submitting a report within 18 months on living donation practices, including informed consent and health risks. The Secretary shall submit an evaluation of federally supported or conducted organ donation and recovery activities.

In addition, this bill authorizes the Secretary to award grants or contracts to states, transplant centers, qualified OPOs or other public or private entities to cover payment of travel and subsistence expenses incurred by living donors or their family members, or other incidental nonmedical expenses related to donation that, in the view of the Secretary, it is appropriate to reimburse. Preference is to be given to lower-income donors. Payment may not be made if expenses are covered under any state compensation program, Federal or state health benefits program, insurance policy, or prepaid health service.

Finally, the bill requires the Secretary to establish an advisory committee to study and prepare a report for Congress on the status of existing registries, current best practices, effect of registries on donation rates, merits of expanding registries, issues relating to consent, efficacy of current privacy protections, potential forms of technical assistance, and recommendations to improve the effectiveness of establishing formal linkages between registries. The Secretary is also required to establish and maintain by contract a registry of individuals who have served as living organ donors for the purpose of evaluating the long-term health effects associated with living donations. Sponsors: Mr. Frist (for himself, Mr. Dodd, Mr. Hutchinson, Mr. Jeffords, and Mr. Enzi)