Building on Oversight and Recent Legislation, Ranking Member Takes Next Step to Improve Transplant System for All Americans
Text of Section-by-Section (PDF)
Washington, D.C. – Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today released draft legislation to continue reforming the organ transplantation system so it works better for the tens of thousands Americans and their families waiting for a lifesaving organ transplant. 13 Americans die every day waiting for an organ transplant.
“Americans expect the organ transplant system to be efficient, safe, and fair,” Wyden said. “My legislation is an important step forward, building on the bipartisan work of the past several years, to make that expectation a reality. For too long the system has fallen short for the thousands of families waiting for a lifesaving transplant, as well as the communities and donors that expect more when they agree to help save a life. It’s time to put the modernization of the organ transplant system on the fast track.”
The legislation, called the Organ Transplant System Improvement Act, would improve safety and fairness in the system by creating new nationwide standards for Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs), and stronger penalties for those that don’t meet those standards. The legislation also makes explicitly clear that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has the authority to certify new OPOs, a step that will spur competition and create an additional pathway for accountability. The legislation builds on the Securing the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act passed in 2023, by giving the federal government more enforcement tools and authorities to ensure the transition away from a monopoly contractor is not disrupted.
The Securing the US Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) Act resulted from a bipartisan investigation led by Wyden revealing how a lack of accountability at the monopoly organization running the organ transplant network resulted in lost organs, technology shortfalls, and fatal, preventable errors.
The section-by-section summary of the legislation can be found here. The legislative text can be found here.
A web version of this release is here.
###