Washington, DC - Congressman Ed Towns (D-Brooklyn), a senior member of the Health Subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee, played a leading role to ensure passage of H.R. 3926, the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act.  The bill, which will encourage more efficient and widespread organ donation, was approved on March 24 by a vote of 414-2.  Towns, who managed the bill for the Democratic side, made the following statement on the House floor in support of the legislation.

"Mr.  Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3926, the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act.  I would like to commend the work of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working in a bipartisan manner to craft this important legislation, and for working to encourage more efficient and wide-spread organ donation activities.

Each day in America nearly 70 people receive an organ transplant, and while this number is itself amazing there are other numbers that are far more troubling.  At days end, 18 people on an organ transplant waiting list will have died because not enough organs are available.  Nearly 85,000 men, women and children are currently awaiting life-saving transplants .  And every 13 minutes another name is added to the national transplant waiting list.

According to the Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, (“IOM”)  report “Organ Procurement and Transplantation,” many factors have been found to affect organ donation rates, including the attitudes of the donor’s family, the policies and practices of hospital staff and organ procurement organizations, and the manner in which individuals are approached about donation.  Sadly, while most Americans indicate that they support organ donation, only about 50 percent of families who are asked to donate a loved one’s organs agree to do so.  Equally perplexing is the interplay between cultural attitudes and race/ethnicity and how this affects rates of organ donation among racial/ethnic minority groups. The IOM reports that the perception of fairness and effectiveness in distribution of donated organs is as important as other factors in affecting donation rates beneficially.  Members of racial/ethnic minorities comprise approximately 25 percent of the population, yet represent close to 50 percent of patients on organ transplant waiting lists.  More than half of those who die while patiently waiting for their gift of life are people of color.

The Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act establishes grants to States that will be used to assist in carrying out organ donation awareness, public education and outreach activities, and programs designed to increase the number of organ donors within a State.  It also offers, on a limited demonstration basis,  reimbursements of travel and subsistence expenses incurred toward living organ donation - an important move to ensure that those who want to give the gift of life are not swayed by financial constraints.  And finally, the bill directs the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to conduct studies to ensure that efforts to increase organ donation and improve the recovery, preservation, and transportation of donated organs are not done in vain.

I am proud to stand with my colleagues in support of H.R. 3926.  The most important number I have highlighted today may very well be the number one; organs donated from just one person can save as many as seven lives.

Thank you"

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