Honor Our Living Donors Act

Bill Number: H.R. 628
Origin Chamber: House
Congress: 119th Congress, Session 1
Policy Area: Health
Status: Introduced
Latest Action: 2025-01-22: Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.
Last Updated: 2026-06-11T18:00:38Z

AI-Generated Summary

Purpose

The Honor Our Living Donors Act (H.R. 628) aims to support living organ donors by ensuring that federal grants for reimbursing their expenses do not factor in the financial status of the organ recipients. This promotes fairness and accessibility in organ donation without creating barriers based on recipient income, while also requiring oversight to ensure adequate funding.

Key Provisions

Prohibition on Income Consideration: Grantees providing reimbursements to living donors (for expenses like travel, medical care, or lost wages) must not consider the income of the organ recipient when determining eligibility or amounts.
Removal of Recipient Payment Expectations: Eliminates any prior requirement or assumption that organ recipients must contribute to or cover donor reimbursement costs.
Annual Reporting Requirement: The Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) must submit an annual report to Congress by December 31, detailing:
Whether grant funding was sufficient to fully reimburse all participating donors in the previous fiscal year.
Estimates of unreimbursed donors and the total additional funding needed for full coverage.
The report must be made public.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

This bill amends Section 377 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 274f), which previously authorized grants for living donor expense reimbursements:

Adds a new subsection explicitly barring consideration of recipient income, shifting focus solely to donor needs.
Redesignates existing subsections to accommodate the new provision and updates cross-references.
Strikes a paragraph that implied organ recipients might bear some reimbursement costs, removing any financial burden or expectation on them.
Introduces a new annual reporting mandate to monitor program effectiveness and funding gaps, which did not exist before.

Potential Impacts

On Government Agencies: HHS will face increased administrative responsibilities for grant management and annual reporting, potentially leading to higher federal spending if more donors qualify without income restrictions. This could strain budgets but improve program transparency.
On Citizens: Living organ donors may receive fuller, more equitable reimbursements, reducing financial barriers to donation and possibly increasing donation rates. Organ recipients, especially those with lower incomes, will benefit from no longer influencing donor support, promoting broader access to transplants.
On International Relations: Minimal direct impact, as the bill focuses on domestic U.S. organ donation programs; however, it could indirectly enhance U.S. leadership in global health equity by modeling donor support policies.

Main Stakeholders Affected

Living Organ Donors: Primary beneficiaries, gaining unbiased access to expense reimbursements.
Organ Recipients: Indirectly affected through removal of income-based hurdles that could have deterred donations.
Health and Human Services (HHS): Responsible for grant administration, reporting, and ensuring program compliance.
Congress: Receives annual reports to inform future funding and policy decisions.
Organ Procurement Organizations and Transplant Centers: Involved in implementing grants and may see increased participation due to simplified rules.

Notable Legal, Constitutional, or Political Implications

Legal: Strengthens anti-discrimination aspects of federal health policy by ensuring reimbursements are need-based for donors, not tied to recipient finances; aligns with broader goals of the National Organ Transplant Act to encourage donations without commodifying organs.
Constitutional: No apparent conflicts; supports equal protection under the law by promoting equitable access to health resources without infringing on free speech, due process, or other rights.
Political: Could appeal across party lines by addressing healthcare affordability and donor incentives, but may spark debates on federal spending increases for transplant programs. The bipartisan introduction (by Rep. Obernolte and Rep. DelBene) suggests potential for broad support in promoting public health initiatives.

This summary was generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies. Refer to the official source document for the authoritative text.

Sponsor

Rep. Obernolte, Jay [R-CA-23]

Cosponsors (12)

Rep. DelBene, Suzan K. [D-WA-1], Rep. Shreve, Jefferson [R-IN-6], Del. Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large], Rep. Nadler, Jerrold [D-NY-12], Rep. Davis, Donald G. [D-NC-1], Rep. Davids, Sharice [D-KS-3], Rep. Bynum, Janelle S. [D-OR-5], Rep. Wilson, Joe [R-SC-2], Rep. Tonko, Paul [D-NY-20], Rep. Gillen, Laura [D-NY-4], Rep. McBride, Sarah [D-DE-At Large], Rep. Pocan, Mark [D-WI-2]