Louisiana, like Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin, has on the books a statute that designates donated organs for in-state patients first. At the heart of this position is the belief that federal preemption of these laws would compromise patients' access to care and jeopardize state transplant programs. That would be statistically impossible. Back to top. HHS' Organ Transplant Rule is under siege on many fronts.
State law challenges.
Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Wisconsin have enacted laws to keep organs donated in the state for patients in the state in opposition to HHS efforts to equalize waiting times and develop uniform medical criteria. Other states are considering similar proposals. A Louisiana court delayed the rule's Oct. 1 implementation pending a decision in a lawsuit filed by the Louisiana attorney general and a group of organ transplant centers, hospitals and surgeons. The suit asks the court to block the rule because it would undermine Louisiana's organ transplant program. Key members of Congress hope to include a rider in a fiscal 1999 spending bill that would prevent HHS from implementing the rule for at least one year.