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Charlie W. Norwood Living Organ Donation Act

Date: March 6, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Senior Citizens Entitlements and the Safety Net Health Insurance


CHARLIE W. NORWOOD LIVING ORGAN DONATION ACT

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Mr. HOYER. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to support legislation by Congressman JACK INSLEE that will save thousands of lives by speeding the kidney donation process.

By making paired kidney donation legal, this bill will facilitate the identification of kidney donors and speed the process by which donors are matched with patients. In fact, this bill could increase the number of live kidney donor transplants performed each year by 14 percent according to a study by the Journal of Transplantation.

In addition to the positive effects for kidney transplant patients, speeding the donation process will also help reduce federal spending. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill will reduce Medicare spending for dialysis by $500 million over 10 years.

This legislation has a wide base of support from the medical community, including the United Network for Organ Sharing, the American Society of Transplantation, the Kidney Fund, the Transplant Surgeons, and the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations. I am proud to add my vote of support to this list.

This bill will give much needed hope to the more than 95,000 people who are waiting for a life-saving organ donation. I commend Congressman INSLEE for introducing this important bill.

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