Recognizing the Introduction of the Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act

Floor Speech

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Ms. McCLELLAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share my thoughts on how we can improve and expedite the organ donation referral process.

I am proud to co-lead the bipartisan Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act with Representative Wittman. The critical legislation will help us understand how the broad adoption of automated electronic organ donor referrals in health systems could help more Americans receive the gift of life.

There are over 100,000 Americans in need of a lifesaving organ transplant. To reduce that number and save more lives, we must improve and modernize the organ transplant process. Modernizing the standard practice--manually notifying organ procurement of potential deceased donors--with an automatic electronic system could lift the reporting burden from busy hospital staff, reduce the risk of human error, and ensure every potential organ donor is referred. This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to study the potential for automated electronic donor referrals, reducing the barriers to successful organ transplantation and ultimately saving lives.

The Organ Donation Referral Improvement Act will support the lifesaving mission of the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) located in the historic Jackson Ward in the Fourth District of Virginia. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress to advance this legislation.

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