{"id":2351971,"date":"2024-10-08T08:01:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/organ-transplant-bill-will-protect-americans-with-disabilities\/"},"modified":"2024-10-08T08:07:16","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T12:07:16","slug":"organ-transplant-bill-will-protect-americans-with-disabilities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/organ-transplant-bill-will-protect-americans-with-disabilities\/","title":{"rendered":"Organ Transplant Bill Will Protect Americans With Disabilities"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Forgan-transplant-bill-will-protect-americans-with-disabilities%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2351971&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The House of Representatives recently \u200bpassed the Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act, aimed at protecting vulnerable patients, particularly those with disabilities, from discrimination in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/what-exactly-happens-in-chinese-concentration-camps\/\" title=\"What Exactly Happens In Chinese Concentration Camps?\">organ transplant<\/a> access. Sponsored by Rep.\u200b Kat Cammack, R-Fla., the bill prohibits transplant centers from denying organ transplants solely based on an individual&#8217;s disability. The need for such legislation highlights\u200d ongoing issues within the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-administration-announces-major-planned-overhaul-of-organ-transplant-network\/\" title=\"Biden administration announces major planned overhaul of organ transplant network\">organ transplant system<\/a>, including monopolistic behavior by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/senate-committee-investigation-finds-us-organ-transplant-network-failing-endangering-lives\/\" title=\"Senate Committee Investigation Finds US Organ Transplant Network Failing, Endangering Lives\">organ procurement organizations<\/a> (OPOs) that have \u200bbeen accused of ignoring patient complaints and discarding organs deemed &#8220;less-than-perfect&#8221; to maintain\u2064 high success rates. Despite previous \u2062reforms that attempted to break the OPO\u200c monopoly, recent congressional hearings revealed persistent arbitrary \u200ddenials of transplants,\u200d underscoring the\u2063 urgency for further reforms to ensure \u2062equitable access \u200cfor all patients in need of transplants.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>The House of Representatives recently passed legislation that will help to protect some of the most vulnerable patients in need of organ transplants. As the mother of a daughter with a disability who may one day need a transplant, I applaud this compassionate and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/marjorie-taylor-greene-how-to-stop-mass-shootings\/\" title=\"Marjorie Taylor Greene: How to Stop Mass Shootings\">common-sense action<\/a>. Yet it also speaks to the failures of our transplant system that lawmakers felt compelled to act in the first place.<\/p>\n<p>The&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.congress.gov\/118\/bills\/hr2706\/BILLS-118hr2706rh.pdf__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5Qqn9eLsC%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">bill<\/a>, the Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act, sponsored by Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., does what its title implies. It directs the board overseeing the national organ transplant system, and other entities (like transplant hospitals), not to discriminate against an individual&rsquo;s access to an organ transplant &ldquo;solely on the basis of that individual&rsquo;s disability.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>One might reasonably ask why this legislation should be necessary. Organ transplant centers already care for vulnerable patients, so why should they ever discriminate on the basis of disability? Unfortunately, that logic fails to consider the dysfunctional way our organ transplant system has operated for far too long.<\/p>\n<p>Multiple investigations by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.finance.senate.gov\/imo\/media\/doc\/UNOS*20Hearing*20Confidential*20Memo*20(FOR*20RELEASE).pdf__;JSUlJSU!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QuxChS-G%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Congress<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.washingtonpost.com\/graphics\/2018\/national\/organ-transplant-shortages\/__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QjBAsKdH%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outside entities<\/a>&nbsp;have demonstrated the problems with the organ procurement organizations (OPOs) that run the transplant system nationwide. These regional organizations have had localized monopolies for decades &mdash; and their behavior reflects that fact. In many cases, OPOs have ignored patient complaints and lost organs during the donation and transplant process. <\/p>\n<p>OPOs also have a history of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/apnews.com\/fbc97856d9ee4d79b93fe05b9e54944b__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QgMjfz79%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">discarding organs<\/a>&nbsp;viewed as less-than-perfect, because staff view maintaining a good &ldquo;success rate&rdquo; for the transplants they do perform as preferable to performing more procedures &mdash; even if this mindset means more patients die waiting for a transplant.<\/p>\n<p>Congress passed, and President Joe Biden signed into law,&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.congress.gov\/118\/plaws\/publ14\/PLAW-118publ14.pdf__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5Qqe249LZ%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">legislation<\/a>&nbsp;last year that officially broke up the OPO monopoly, but a recent&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/docs.house.gov\/Committee\/Calendar\/ByEvent.aspx?EventID=117624__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QkZDPB21%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hearing<\/a>&nbsp;by the House Energy and Commerce Oversight Subcommittee revealed there is more work to do. During the hearing, lawmakers heard testimony about OPOs denying transplants to patients for seemingly arbitrary reasons. One witness who used to work for the OPOs&rsquo; national overseer&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/docs.house.gov\/meetings\/IF\/IF02\/20240911\/117624\/HMTG-118-IF02-Wstate-SegalG-20240911.pdf__;!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QhrZwDyM%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>&nbsp;that he had seen &ldquo;credible allegations&rdquo; of entities preferring &ldquo;wealthy&rdquo; and &ldquo;famous people on the organ transplant waiting list by skipping over other patients higher up on the waiting list,&rdquo; and even allegations of &ldquo;harvesting of organs from patients who whistleblowers believe would otherwise have survived.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Reports of these types of allegations undermine not just the public&rsquo;s faith in the fairness of the organ transplant allocation system, but the soundness of the doctors and institutions participating in it. Patients should have absolutely no doubt that physicians, transplant hospitals, and OPOs are treating them with the patient&rsquo;s interests solely in mind &mdash; not the transplant hospital&rsquo;s bottom line, the OPO&rsquo;s &ldquo;success rate,&rdquo; or some other metric not focused on patient care.<\/p>\n<p>As a mother of a special needs child, and a former member of the National Council on Disability, I want to ensure that my daughter receives the best care possible, including if and when she needs a transplant. That&rsquo;s why I applaud the House&rsquo;s unanimous decision to pass Cammack&rsquo;s bill, which will help to ensure that all patients needing a transplant get treated fairly and equally with respect to organ allocation decisions.<\/p>\n<p>I hope the Senate will soon pass this legislation, and the president can sign it into law, to continue the work lawmakers have conducted in the past few years to improve our organ transplant system. With an average of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/urldefense.com\/v3\/__https:\/www.organdonor.gov\/learn\/organ-donation-statistics*glance__;Iw!!F0Stn7g!B09hjxT96ee_num5yPQ4r4iZNO14CgBpzQDrh_X3SruCpZYTcMgyencl2db39oF0aL_lvPx1m7p5QoJVpDQM%24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">17 patients dying every day<\/a>&nbsp;while waiting for an organ transplant, we have no time to waste.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Mary Vought is a former member of the National Council of Disability and an IWF senior fellow. Follow her on X <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/MaryVought\">@MaryVought<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The House passed a bill to protect vulnerable organ transplant patients<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":564,"featured_media":2351972,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-10-03T104416.295.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[42547,42548,42546],"class_list":["post-2351971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-disability-rights","tag-healthcare-legislation","tag-organ-transplant"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Copy-of-Untitled-2024-10-03T104416.295.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/564"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2351971"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2351971\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2351972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2351971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2351971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2351971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}