Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act
Plain Language Summary
# Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act (HR 1520) **What It Does** This bill prohibits hospitals and organ transplant programs from automatically denying transplants to people with disabilities. Currently, some transplant centers may reject disabled applicants based solely on their disability status. The bill allows medical professionals to consider a disability only if they determine it's genuinely medically significant to the transplant procedure itself. Importantly, if a person with a disability has a strong support system to help them follow medical requirements after transplant, their disability cannot be used as a reason to deny them.
The bill also requires transplant centers to make reasonable policy changes to improve access for people with disabilities. **Who It Affects** The law would primarily affect people with disabilities seeking organ transplants, as well as hospitals, transplant centers, and organ procurement organizations. It gives patients the right to challenge denials they believe are discriminatory and empowers the Department of Health and Human Services to enforce compliance. **Current Status** The bill passed the House of Representatives and is now moving through the legislative process. The bill is named after Charlotte Woodward, a woman with Down syndrome whose transplant access became a focal point in discussions about disability discrimination in medical care.
CRS Official Summary
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention ActThis bill expressly prohibits health care providers and other entities involved in matching donated organs with recipients from denying or restricting an individual's access to organ transplants solely on the basis of the individual's disability, except in limited circumstances.Specifically, these entities may consider an individual's disability when making decisions about transplants only if a physician finds, based on an individualized evaluation, that the individual's physical or mental disability is medically significant to the provision of the transplant. A disability shall not be considered medically significant if the individual has an adequate support system in place to comply with transplant-related medical requirements.These entities must also make reasonable changes to their policies to make transplants and related care more available to individuals with disabilities.Aggrieved individuals may bring claims of discrimination to the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill provides for expedited resolutions of these claims.In addition, the board of directors of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network may not issue policies that prohibit or hinder access to an organ transplant based solely on the individual's disability. This network is a public-private partnership linking professionals involved in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system.
Latest Action
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.