Living Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act

The Living Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act (H.R. 710) was introduced by Rep. Charles Norwood (R-Ga.) on January 29, 2007. If passed, the act would amend the National Organ Transplant Act to clarify that kidney paired donation does not involve the transfer of a human organ for valuable consideration.

Bill status
Rep. Charles Norwood (R-Ga.) introduced the bill on January 29, 2007. Norwood died on February 13, 2007, and had received a lung transplant in 2004. The bill has now passed the House and the Senate.



Bill details
The Living Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act would amend the National Organ Transplant Act to provide that a ‘paired donation’ of kidneys is not considered a human organ transfer for a value consideration. The bill was identical to S.487 that passed the Senate by Unanimous Consent on February 15, 2007.

A paired donation is when: Person ‘A’ needs a kidney. Person ‘B’ has a kidney to spare but it is not compatible with Person ‘A’. Person ‘B’s kidney is, however, compatible with Person ‘C’ and Person ‘C’s kidney is compatible with Person ‘A’. So, Person ‘B’ donates a kidney to Person C who then donates a compatible kidney to Person A.

This process has been proven successful in providing more kidney transplants when compatible kidneys are in short supply compared to demand. The bill essentially makes the swaps less expensive by considering it "not a transfer for value consideration."

Passage
The bill passed the House on March 2, 2007 in a vote of 422 to 0. 

The bill, slightly amended, passed in the Senate by unanimous consent on July 9, 2007. The House then considered and passed the new version by a voice vote on July 11, 2007.