Donated organs are the 'gift of life,' not commodities. Yet the bill as introduced would have emasculated our country's long-standing ban on the sale of organs. It is silent about what potential influence such gifts might have on a patient's status on a waiting list. It fails to bar preferential treatment on the basis of such gifts. Finally, H.R. 2418 includes an additional carve-out of the OPTN's finances from Secretarial oversight.
Patients have no choice in paying the listing fees.
If they do not, they have no chance of receiving a transplant. The bill would allow UNOS or its successor to set those fees as high as they wished, and use those monies for any purpose, including lobbying or other political activities. Under H.R. 2418, the Secretary and the public would be unable to stop this misuse of funds. Despite its many flaws and unsound foundation, H.R. 2418 is most dangerous as a blunt political instrument, not as prospective law. The Secretary of Health and Human Services has already written this Committee that she would recommend the President veto the bill in its present form.