{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://miller.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-colleagues-introduce-removing-burdens-organ-donation-act", "Miller, Colleagues Introduce the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act", "2025-07-18", "2025", "2025-07", "Republican", "House", "WV", "Carol D. Miller", "M001205", "miller.house.gov", "miller", "https://miller.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 On Wednesday, Reps. Carol Miller (R-WV), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Beth Van Duyne (R-TX), and Jim Costa (D-CA) introduced H.R. 4470, The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act. This bipartisan legislation modernizes and streamlines the organ donation process by requiring hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid to send automated electronic notifications to their designated Organ Procurement Organizations (OPO) when a patient dies or meets criteria for imminent death. It also requires remote electronic access to a patient\u2019s health records to be granted to the OPO at that time\u2014ensuring faster and more informed decision-making in critical moments.\n\n\u201cOver 35 million Americans are living with Chronic Kidney Disease. In my home state of West Virginia, nearly 4,000 individuals are experiencing kidney failure and are reliant on frequent dialysis or a kidney transplant to survive. As Co-Chair of the Congressional Kidney Caucus, I have introduced and supported legislation that addresses the needs of these individuals and helps them receive life-saving medical care. The Removing Burdens from Organ Donation Act will bring much needed reform to the organ donation process by simplifying the existing procedures and saving valuable time when viable organs become available. By removing bureaucratic red tape, we can save more lives and secure more organ transplants for patients in need,\u201d said Rep. Carol Miller.\n\n\u201cOrgan transplant lists grow every day and families are waiting longer for the call that can give their loved ones the gift of life. This bill would cut through unnecessary red tape that slows down the organ donation process. By streamlining and automating how hospitals notify Organ Procurement Organizations, we can save valuable time and more lives,\u201d said Rep. Suzan DelBene.\n\n\u201cOrgan donation saves lives, but too often, outdated processes, and unnecessary red tape stands in the way. By cutting bureaucratic delays and modernizing the referral process, this legislation will ensure that more donor organs reach the patients who desperately need them. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan effort that brings commonsense, life-saving reforms to a system that many families depend on,\u201d said Rep. Van Duyne.\n\n\u201cThe Removing Burdens from Organ Donation Act is a vital step towards strengthening our nation\u2019s organ transplant system by advancing communications between hospitals and Organ Procurement Organizations. This legislation bypasses burdens to streamline efficient organ donor referrals through technology to reduce delays and assist timely coordination. It\u2019s a practical and commonsense solution to ensure more lives are saved,\u201d said Rep. Jim Costa.\n\nExperts and leaders in the transplant community praised the bill for its potential to improve patient outcomes and make the organ donation process more efficient:\n\n\u201cThis legislation will strengthen the existing deceased organ donor referral process by leveraging technology to streamline the way hospitals and organ procurement organizations communicate with one another. Studies have found that automated deceased donor referral software tools increase the number of organ donors \u2013 a significant impact since one organ donor can save up to eight lives. Thank you, U.S. Reps. Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for your leadership in advocating for patients. UNOS looks forward to continuing to work with you to help more patients get the lifesaving transplant they need,\" said Maureen McBride, Ph.D., CEO of UNOS.\n\n\u201cWithout a doubt, the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act will save lives. The organ procurement organization that received the very first automated electronic donor referral. \u201cSecurely integrating systems between hospitals and organ procurement organizations through automated electronic donor referrals and remote access protocols will streamline operations, reduce costs, and increase patient safety. We are incredibly grateful for Rep. Van Duyne and the work she has done to remove burdens from the organ donation process,\u201d said Brad Adams, President & CEO of Southwest Transplant Alliance.\n\n\u201cThe Association of Organ Procurement Organizations applauds Representatives Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for introducing legislation that streamlines hospital organ donor referrals and improves organ procurement organizations\u2019 access to vital patient information. By reducing delays and supporting timely coordination with donor families, this bill will help ensure more lives are saved through organ donation,\u201d said a spokesperson for the Association of Organ Procurement Organizations.\n\n\u201cOn behalf of the American Society of Transplantation (AST), representing a majority of the nation's medical professionals engaged in the field of solid organ transplantation, we applaud the continuous leadership and steadfast resolve of Representatives DelBene, Costa, Miller, and Van Duyne to strengthen the nation's organ transplant system. The AST endorses the \u2018Removing Burdens from Organ Donation Act\u2019 as a commonsense approach to bring great efficiencies to the system and our patients,\u201d said Dr. Jon Kobashigawa, M.D. President, American Society of Transplantation (AST).\n\n\u201cLifeGift, the health services agency that coordinates organ and tissue donation in Houston, Fort Worth, Lubbock and Amarillo, Texas, supports the Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act sponsored by Representatives Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa as a hugely important performance improvement intervention to make potential donor referrals from hospital to organ procurement organization faster and more efficient. LifeGift has received 19,463 potential referrals so far in 2025 and received 35,952 referrals in 2024; all of which were made by phone between hospital staff and LifeGift. Moving these referral calls to an electronic notification allows critical care staff to focus on patient care and gives the organ donation team precious time to begin their lifesaving work,\u201d said Kevin Myer, President & CEO of LifeGift.\n\n\u201cWith more than 90,000 Americans on the kidney transplant waitlist, it is imperative that our organ transplant system function as efficiently as possible to help as many of them receive a kidney as quickly as possible. The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act would help both hardworking donor hospital teams and organ procurement organization teams\u2014who together make kidneys available for transplant\u2014benefit from readily-available technology to speed the lifesaving work they lead every day across the country. I commend Reps. Van Duyne, DelBene, Miller, and Costa for their leadership in support of kidney transplant candidates awaiting a lifesaving organ and the multidisciplinary teams who make that hope a reality,\u201d said the American Society of Nephrology President Prabir Roy-Chaudhury, MD, PhD, FASN.\n\n\"On behalf of every kidney patient managing organ failure and their families, the American Association of Kidney Patients extends our most sincere appreciation to Representative Van Duyne and her Congressional colleagues, Representatives Susan DelBene, Carol Miller, and Jim Costa, for their serious and substantive bipartisan efforts to address America's organ shortage through the Removing Barriers to Organ Donation Act. Representative Van Duyne has been a remarkably insightful and empathetic advocate for kidney patients and we are honored to fully support the policy efforts she and her colleagues have undertaken to prioritize transplantation over status quo, high mortality dialysis and its associated legacy of dependence and disability,\u201d said Mr. Edward V. Hickey, IIII, a chronic kidney disease patient and the President of the American Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP), America's largest kidney patient organization.\n\n\u201cThis bipartisan bill takes a commonsense, life-saving step forward by streamlining communication between hospitals and organ procurement organizations. It will help ensure fewer transplant opportunities are missed and that more families facing kidney failure can hold onto hope for a second chance. We're grateful to Congress for working to remove burdens that cost lives,\u201d said Susan Bushnell, President and CEO of the Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation.\n\n\u201cBetter information means better care. The Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act ensures timely, secure access to vital records so the entire care team can act quickly and decisively. This bipartisan bill is a commonsense step toward more efficient, life-saving kidney donation and offers hope to people living with kidney failure,\u201d said Margaret French, Managing Director of Legislative Affairs, Alliance for Home Dialysis.\n\nThe Removing Burdens From Organ Donation Act is supported by a broad coalition of stakeholders across the transplant and kidney care communities, including:\n\nDaVita\n\nFresenius Medical Care\n\nUnited Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS)\n\nSouthwest Transplant Alliance\n\nDonor Network West (San Francisco, CA)\n\nLouisiana Organ Procurement Agency\n\nMid-America Transplant (St. Louis, MO)\n\nOurLegacy (Orlando, FL)\n\nAssociation of Organ Procurement Organizations (AOPO)\n\nLifeGift (serving North, Southeast, and West Texas)\n\nAmerican Society of Nephrology\n\nAmerican Society of Transplant Surgeons (ASTS)\n\nAmerican Society of Transplantation (AST)\n\nAmerican Association of Kidney Patients (AAKP)\n\nNational Kidney Foundation\n\nPolycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Foundation\n\nAlliance for Home Dialysis\n\nThese organizations recognize the bill\u2019s importance in improving efficiency, communication, and access in the organ donation and transplantation process.\n\nClick HERE for bill text.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T14:40:33Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://miller.house.gov/media/press-releases/miller-colleagues-introduce-removing-burdens-organ-donation-act"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9754919447004795, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}