I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2472 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Organ 

and Tissue Donor Registry Resource Center, to authorize grants for 

State organ and tissue donor registries, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 20, 2015 

Mr. CLAY (for himself and Mr. GRAVES of Missouri) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To amend the Public Health Service Act to establish a National Organ and Tissue Donor Registry Resource Center, to authorize grants for State organ and tissue donor 

registries, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Everson Walls and 

5 Ron Springs Gift for Life Act of 2015’’. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 2472 IH

1 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR REGISTRY 

2 RESOURCE CENTER. 

3 Part H of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 273 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec5 tion 371A the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 371B. NATIONAL ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR REG7 ISTRY RESOURCE CENTER. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, acting through 

9 the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services 

10 Administration, shall establish a National Organ and Tis11 sue Donor Registry Resource Center (referred to in this 

12 section as the ‘Center’). 

13 ‘‘(b) DUTIES.—The Center shall— 

14 ‘‘(1) advance the development, expansion, and 

15 evaluation of State organ and tissue donor reg16 istries; 

17 ‘‘(2) facilitate timely access to and exchange of 

18 accurate donor information between State registries 

19 7 days each week on a 24-hour basis; 

20 ‘‘(3) ensure that State organ and tissue donor 

21 registries funded through section 371C are in com22 pliance with the requirements described in such sec23 tion, including the operating standards described in 

24 section 371C(d); 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 2472 IH

1 ‘‘(4) provide technical assistance to States for 

2 the establishment and operation of State organ and 

3 tissue registries; and 

4 ‘‘(5) maintain a registry information clearing5 house, including by maintaining a Web site, to col6 lect, synthesize, and disseminate best practices infor7 mation about organ and tissue donor registries. 

8 ‘‘(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—No ad9 ditional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the 

10 purpose of carrying out this section. This section shall be 

11 carried out, for fiscal years 2016 through 2020, using 

12 amounts otherwise available for such purpose.’’. 

13 SEC. 3. GRANTS FOR STATE ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR 

14 REGISTRIES. 

15 Part H of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 273 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec17 tion 371B, as inserted by section 2, the following: 

18 ‘‘SEC. 371C. GRANTS FOR STATE ORGAN AND TISSUE 

19 DONOR REGISTRIES. 

20 ‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary shall 

21 award grants or cooperative agreements to eligible entities 

22 to support the development, enhancement, expansion, and 

23 evaluation of State organ and tissue donor registries. 

24 ‘‘(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘eligible 

25 entity’ means a State agency or a State contracted entity. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 2472 IH

1 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—As a condition on the receipt 

2 of a grant or cooperative agreement under this section, 

3 an eligible entity shall agree to use the grant or coopera4 tive agreement— 

5 ‘‘(1) to develop, expand, or maintain a State 

6 organ and tissue donor registry; and 

7 ‘‘(2) to establish benchmarks for improvement 

8 in organ and tissue donation in the State. 

9 ‘‘(d) OPERATING STANDARDS.—As a condition on the 

10 receipt of a grant or cooperative agreement under this sec11 tion for a State organ and tissue donor registry, an eligible 

12 entity shall agree to maintain the registry in accordance 

13 with the following: 

14 ‘‘(1) The registry must allow a donor or any 

15 other person authorized by the donor to include in 

16 the registry a statement or symbol that the donor 

17 has made, amended, or revoked an anatomical gift. 

18 ‘‘(2) The registry must be accessible to any 

19 qualified organ procurement organization described 

20 in section 371(b) to allow the organization to obtain 

21 relevant information on the registry to determine, at 

22 or near the death of the donor or a prospective 

23 donor, whether the donor or prospective donor has 

24 made, amended, or revoked an anatomical gift. 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 2472 IH

1 ‘‘(3) The registry must be accessible as de2 scribed in paragraphs (1) and (2) 7 days each week 

3 on a 24-hour basis. 

4 ‘‘(4) The registry must ensure that personally 

5 identifiable information on the registry about a 

6 donor or prospective donor may not be used or dis7 closed without the express consent of the donor or 

8 prospective donor for any purpose other than to de9 termine, at or near the death of the donor or pro10 spective donor, whether the donor or prospective 

11 donor has made, amended, or revoked an anatomical 

12 gift. 

13 ‘‘(e) APPLICATION.—To seek a grant or cooperative 

14 agreement under this section, an entity shall submit an 

15 application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, 

16 and containing such information as the Secretary may rea17 sonably require. 

18 ‘‘(f) REPORT.—As a condition on the receipt of a 

19 grant or cooperative agreement under this section, not 

20 later than 180 days after receipt of the grant or coopera21 tive agreement, and every 180 days thereafter (through 

22 the date of completion of the activities funded through the 

23 grant or cooperative agreement), an eligible entity shall 

24 prepare and submit a report to the Secretary that— 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 2472 IH

1 ‘‘(1) describes the manner in which such entity 

2 has used amounts received through the grant or co3 operative agreement; and 

4 ‘‘(2) assesses initiatives that may be replicated 

5 in other States. 

6 ‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—No ad7 ditional funds are authorized to be appropriated for the 

8 purpose of carrying out this section. This section shall be 

9 carried out, for fiscal years 2016 through 2020, using 

10 amounts otherwise available for such purpose.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. 

12 Part H of title III of the Public Health Service Act 

13 (42 U.S.C. 273 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec14 tion 371C, as inserted by section 3, the following: 

15 ‘‘SEC. 371D. LIMITATION ON LIABILITY. 

16 ‘‘No person may be held civilly liable by reason of 

17 having harvested or taken an individual’s organs or tissues 

18 without having obtained valid consent for the harvesting 

19 or taking, if— 

20 ‘‘(1) such person has verified that, at the time 

21 of the harvesting or taking, the individual is reg22 istered as a donor with a State organ and tissue 

23 donor registry; and 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 2472 IH

1 ‘‘(2) the harvesting or taking is within the 

2 scope of the consent given by such individual for 

3 purposes of such registration.’’. 

4 SEC. 5. STUDY ON FEASIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING A LIVING 

5 DONOR DATABASE. 

6 Section 371A of the Public Health Service Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 273a) is amended— 

8 (1) by striking ‘‘The Secretary may establish’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

10 may establish’’; and 

11 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘(b) STUDY.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

13 of the enactment of the Everson Walls and Ron Springs 

14 Gift for Life Act of 2015, the Comptroller General of the 

15 United States shall— 

16 ‘‘(1) complete a study to determine the feasi17 bility of establishing a living donor database for the 

18 purpose of tracking the short- and long-term health 

19 effects for such donors associated with living organ 

20 donation; and 

21 ‘‘(2) submit a report to the Congress on the re22 sults of such study.’’. 

Æ 


smartinez on DSK4TPTVN1PROD with BILLS