I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 624
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote organ donation.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 14, 2001
Mr. BILIRAKIS (for himself, Mr. BARRETT, Mr. UPTON, Mr. BROWN of Ohio,
Mr. EHRLICH, Mrs. THURMAN, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. PALLONE, Mr.
DEUTSCH, and Mr. WYNN) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to promote organ
donation.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Organ Donation Im-
provement Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS.
(a) PUBLIC AWARENESS OF NEED FOR ORGAN DO-
NATION.—It is the sense of the Congress that the Federal
Government should carry out programs to educate the
public with respect to organ donation, including the need
to provide for an adequate rate of such donations.
(b) FAMILY DISCUSSIONS OF ORGAN DONATIONS.—
The Congress recognizes the importance of families pledg-
ing to each other to share their lives as organ and tissue
donors and acknowledges the importance of discussing
organ and tissue donation as a family.
(c) 
LIVING
DONATIONS
OF
ORGANS.—The
Congress—
(1) recognizes the generous contribution made
by each living individual who has donated an organ
to save a life; and
(2) acknowledges the advances in medical tech-
nology that have enabled organ transplantation with
organs donated by living individuals to become a via-
ble treatment option for an increasing number of pa-
tients.
SEC. 3. PAYMENT OF TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE EXPENSES
INCURRED TOWARD LIVING ORGAN DONA-
TION.
Section 377 of the Public Health Service Act (42
U.S.C. 274f) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘PAYMENT OF TRAVEL AND SUBSISTENCE EXPENSES
INCURRED TOWARD LIVING ORGAN DONATION
‘‘SEC. 377. (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may
make awards of grants or contracts to States, transplant
centers, qualified organ procurement organizations under
section 371, or other public or private entities for the pur-
pose of—
‘‘(1) providing for the payment of travel and
subsistence expenses incurred by individuals toward
making living donations of their organs (in this sec-
tion referred as ‘donating individuals’); and
‘‘(2) in addition, providing for the payment of
such incidental nonmedical expenses that are so in-
curred as the Secretary determines by regulation to
be appropriate.
‘‘(b) ELIGIBILITY.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Payments under subsection
(a) may be made for the qualifying expenses of a do-
nating individual only if—
‘‘(A) the State in which the donating indi-
vidual resides is a different State than the
State in which the intended recipient of the
organ resides; and
‘‘(B) the annual income of the intended re-
cipient of the organ does not exceed $35,000
(as adjusted for fiscal year 2001 and subse-
quent fiscal years to offset the effects of infla-
tion occurring after the beginning of fiscal year
2000).
‘‘(2) CERTAIN
CIRCUMSTANCES.—Subject to
paragraph (1), the Secretary may in carrying out
subsection (a) provide as follows:
‘‘(A) The Secretary may consider the term
‘donating individuals’ as including individuals
who in good faith incur qualifying expenses to-
ward the intended donation of an organ but
with respect to whom, for such reasons as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, no do-
nation of the organ occurs.
‘‘(B) The Secretary may consider the term
‘qualifying expenses’ as including the expenses
of having one or more family members of do-
nating individuals accompany the donating indi-
viduals for purposes of subsection (a) (subject
to making payment for only such types of ex-
penses as are paid for donating individuals).
‘‘(c) LIMITATION ON AMOUNT OF PAYMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to the geo-
graphic area to which a donating individual travels
for purposes of subsection (a), if such area is other
than the covered vicinity for the intended recipient
of the organ, the amount of qualifying expenses for
which payments under such subsection are made
may not exceed the amount of such expenses for
which payment would have been made if such area
had been the covered vicinity for the intended recipi-
ent, taking into account the costs of travel and re-
gional differences in the costs of living.
‘‘(2) COVERED VICINITY.—For purposes of this
section, the term ‘covered vicinity’, with respect to
an intended recipient of an organ from a donating
individual, means the vicinity of the nearest trans-
plant center to the residence of the intended recipi-
ent that regularly performs transplants of that type
of organ.
‘‘(d) RELATIONSHIP TO PAYMENTS UNDER OTHER
PROGRAMS.—An award may be made under subsection (a)
only if the applicant involved agrees that the award will
not be expended to pay the qualifying expenses of a donat-
ing individual to the extent that payment has been made,
or can reasonably be expected to be made, with respect
to such expenses—
‘‘(1) under any State compensation program,
under an insurance policy, or under any Federal or
State health benefits program; or
‘‘(2) by an entity that provides health services
on a prepaid basis.
‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered vicinity’ has the mean-
ing given such term in subsection (c)(2).
‘‘(2) The term ‘donating individuals’ has the
meaning indicated for such term in subsection
(a)(1), subject to subsection (b)(2)(A).
‘‘(3) The term ‘qualifying expenses’ means the
expenses authorized for purposes of subsection (a),
subject to subsection (b)(2)(B).
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—For the
purpose of carrying out this section, there is authorized
to be appropriated $5,000,000 for each of the fiscal years
2000 through 2005.’’.
SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS; STUDIES AND DEMONSTRA-
TIONS.
Part H of title III of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 273 et seq.) is amended by inserting after sec-
tion 377 the following section:
‘‘PUBLIC AWARENESS; STUDIES AND DEMONSTRATIONS
‘‘SEC. 377A. (a) PUBLIC AWARENESS.—The Sec-
retary shall (directly or through grants or contracts) carry
out a program to educate the public with respect to organ
donation, including the need to provide for an adequate
rate of such donations.
‘‘(b) STUDIES
AND DEMONSTRATIONS.—The Sec-
retary may make grants to public and nonprofit private
entities for the purpose of carrying out studies and dem-
onstration projects with respect to providing for an ade-
quate rate of organ donation.
‘‘(c) GRANTS TO STATES.—The Secretary may make
grants to States for the purpose of assisting States in car-
rying out organ donor awareness, public education and
outreach activities and programs designed to increase the
number of organ donors within the State, including living
donors. To be eligible, each State shall—
‘‘(1) submit an application to the Department
in the form prescribed;
‘‘(2) establish yearly benchmarks for improve-
ment in organ donation rates in the State;
‘‘(3) develop, enhance or expand a State donor
registry, which shall be available to hospitals, organ
procurement organizations, and other States upon a
search request; and
‘‘(4) report to the Secretary on an annual basis
a description and assessment of the State’s use of
these grant funds, accompanied by an assessment of
initiatives for potential replication in other States.
Funds may be used by the State or in partnership with
other public agencies or private sector institutions for edu-
cation and awareness efforts, information dissemination,
activities pertaining to the State organ donor registry, and