Jay Inslee: Washington's 1st Congressional District

Issues

Health

Inslee Introduces Organ Donor Legislation

19 March 2001

Washington, D.C. – An event at Children's Hospital and Medical Center featuring donor recipients set the stage for U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee re-introduction of two pieces of legislation aimed at increasing organ donations across the country. Inslee was joined by organ donors and recipients, including Cappy Neimer, a seven year old liver transplant recipient, and Judy Grogan, a daughter who made the decision to donate her mother's organs.

"There is a lot we can do to make organ transplants more readily available to those who desperately need them," said Inslee. He added, "My family recently experienced the frustration of waiting firsthand, when we were forced to reschedule our son's transplant appointment several times because there simply were no corneas available. Many other people die and suffer serious consequences each year due to a lack of major organs. This legislation is a chance to help patients get the organs they need as quickly as possible."

The first piece of legislation is the Organ Donor Enhancement Act, which would create a searchable National Living Organ Donor Registry. The registry would allow doctors to search for potential organ matches, and so speed up organ transplants. Privacy of all donors would be strictly ensured.

The second piece of legislation is the Organ Coordination Improvement Act, which would establish a grant program to fund an Organ Coordinator position in hospitals. The Organ Coordinator would be responsible for coordinating all organ donation, procurement and education within the hospital, and creating a local control board made up of hospital staff and the Organ Procurement Organizations. Original co-sponsors of this legislation include Floyd Spence (R, SC-02), and Eric Cantor (R, VA-07).