Young proposes first in series of bills to reform U.S. organ donation process

U.S. Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) on July 9 introduced the first bill in what will be a comprehensive series of proposals he plans to sponsor aimed at reforming the nation’s organ donation system.

Sen. Young offered S. 2063, which would amend the Social Security Act regarding the 58 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) in the United States that maintain control over the process to obtain organs.

“After carefully studying this issue, it’s clear that the best way to save lives is to bring greater transparency, oversight and accountability to the organizations responsible for getting organs from the donors to the patients who need them,” Sen. Young said on Tuesday. “This legislation will ensure that organ procurement organizations are no longer operating in darkness.”

Currently, OPO performance is measured by self-reported and unaudited data, which has resulted in OPOs coming under fire for their lack of effectiveness, transparency and accountability, according to the senator’s office.

In fact, not one OPO has been decertified over the last 20 years despite serious underperformance reports, according to Sen. Young’s office.

If enacted, S. 2063 would establish updated, objective and verifiable metrics for OPOs that would hold them accountable to their performance and allow for comparisons between both their performance and geographic-level donation rates to identify areas needing improvements, according to a bill summary.

Sen. Young said in his home state more than 1,300 Indiana residents need an organ transplant while nationally more than 113,000 people die each year waiting for an organ.

S. 2063, which has been referred for consideration to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee, is supported by the American Society of Nephrology, Dialysis Patient Citizens, and ORGANize.