Jay Obernolte: “It is an honor to testify in support of my bill, the Honor Our Living Donors Act. Mr. Speaker, I think everyone can…”

“It is an honor to testify in support of my bill, the Honor Our Living Donors Act. Mr. Speaker, I think everyone can agree that there are few acts more selfless than a living donor donating an organ to somebody else in need. There is a desperate need for those organs. We have over 100,000 Americans currently actively awaiting a donated organ to save their lives, yet we don't have enough donations to go around. It will also come as no surprise that the act of donating an organ comes with substantial financial liability and risk for the donors. There is time off work to be considered. It is an invasive medical procedure with, in some cases, an extensive recovery. There are expenses like childcare and travel. All of these things make it very expensive to donate an organ. That is why the National Living Donor Assistance Center was established by Congress, to help fund these badly needed donations. However, it is not enough. Over 90 percent of the active living donors who donate an organ currently do so at their own expense. One of the reasons for that is because it is so difficult to qualify under the current guidelines. In fact, it is means tested so that it is dependent on the sum of the income of the organ donor and the organ recipient. I think we should all be able to agree that that is nonsensical. Only the income of the donor should matter. That is why this bill is so important.…”