WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, along with current Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and committee members Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Todd Young (R-Ind.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.), cheered congressional passage of their bill to end the forty-year monopoly of the U.S. organ transplant system. The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act will break up the contract for the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) so that patients have improved access to lifesaving organ donations. The bill passed the House of Representatives earlier this week and now heads to the president’s desk to be signed. 

“This bill's passage is proof that bipartisanship still works in Washington,” Grassley said. “I’ve been grateful to have support from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle since I first began investigating the organ industry in 2005. At long last, Congress has succeeded in untangling years of deadly errors in the organ industry to give patients a better shot at lifesaving care and root out corruption. Americans in need of organ donations, especially rural residents and people of color, will be greatly benefited by these changes.” 

“Today is a monumental day in the effort to improve the organ donation and transplantation system for Americans and their families who are counting on transplants to save their lives,” Wyden said. “With congressional passage of our legislation, the Biden administration will have the tools it has asked for to implement a comprehensive modernization of the OPTN contracting process. I look forward to continuing my work to improve this system so more Americans can receive lifesaving transplants.”  

“Last week, I held a hearing in the Senate Finance Health Care Subcommittee that highlighted the devastating failures of the current U.S. transplant system that impact thousands of patients. The message was clear: we urgently need oversight, reform, and transparency,” Cardin said. “Passing the Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act is another step towards improving the OPTN so more patients can access transplants safely and efficiently. As 17 people die each day under the current system, Congress will not accept mismanagement when lives are at stake.”

“This is an important day for thousands of Americans who are in need of life-saving transplants,” Young said. “The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act includes necessary reforms that will help ensure accountability and transformation in the organ donation and transplant system. This bipartisan bill will save lives, and I look forward to it being swiftly signed into law.”

“The management of the U.S. organ transplant system needs serious reform,” Cassidy said. “Breaking up this monopoly will increase competition, save lives and improve the system. I’m glad to see our legislation pass Congress and look forward to it becoming law.”

“Bringing transparency and accountability into the US transplant system is long overdue,” said Lauren Drew, Director of the National Kidney Foundation. “Fourteen kidney patients die every day waiting to obtain a transplant while over 20 kidneys are recovered but not transplanted. We need a more effective transplant system. I am pleased that Congress passed the legislation necessary to make much-needed improvements. We look forward to working with HRSA to apply its new authority to develop a patient-centered transplant system that fosters innovation to maximize the opportunity for all the 100,000+ people on the wait list.”

Background

The Securing the U.S. Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network Act will remove barriers in OPTN contracting and give the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) statutory authority to improve management and government oversight of the U.S. organ transplantation system. The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) has held OPTN’s contract since its inception in 1986, despite decades of failure and abuse revealed by a Grassley-led investigation launched during his time as Finance Committee chairman. 

The legislation’s timely passage comes as the current OPTN contract is set to expire on September 30, 2023. Once law, the legislative fixes will allow HRSA to make meaningful reforms ahead of the upcoming contract procurement process in order to encourage competition from competent and transparent contractors. In March, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra praised Grassley’s longstanding oversight as a catalyst in agency actions to improve the organ transplant system.

-30-