S. 377Senate117th Congress (2021-2023)In Committee

Living Donor Protection Act of 2021

Introduced February 23, 2021

AI-Generated Summary

Updated February 7, 2026 at 11:03 PM UTC

The Living Donor Protection Act of 2021 seeks to stop discrimination against people who donate an organ while alive. It bars insurers from denying or raising the cost of life, disability, or long‑term care policies because of donor status, and it adds organ‑donation recovery to the list of serious health conditions covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act and federal civil‑service leave rules. The bill also directs the Health and Human Services Secretary to update public information about living donation and the new protections.

Key Provisions

  • Prohibits life, disability, and long‑term care insurers from denying coverage, increasing premiums, or imposing conditions solely because a person is a living organ donor; state insurance regulators may enforce this.
  • Amends the Family and Medical Leave Act and federal civil‑service leave statutes to treat recovery from organ‑donation surgery as a serious health condition, allowing eligible leave and permitting substitution of other available leave.
  • Requires the HHS Secretary to review and update educational materials within six months to explain the benefits and risks of living organ donation and the new insurance protections.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

February 23, 2021

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

February 23, 2021

SenateIntro Referral

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

February 23, 2021

Bill Text

Latest available legislative text

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Introduced in SenateIssued February 23, 2021

II

117th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 377

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

February 23, 2021

Mrs. Gillibrand (for herself and Mr. Cotton) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To promote and protect from discrimination living organ donors.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Living Donor Protection Act of 2021.

2.

Prohibition on denial of coverage or increase in premiums of life or disability insurance for living organ donors

(a)

Prohibition

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, it shall be unlawful to—

(1)

decline or limit coverage of a person under any life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy, solely due to the status of such person as a living organ donor;

(2)

preclude an insured from donating all or part of an organ as a condition of continuing to receive a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy; or

(3)

otherwise discriminate in the offering, issuance, cancellation, amount of such coverage, price, or any other condition of a life insurance policy, disability insurance policy, or long-term care insurance policy for a person, based solely and without any additional actuarial risks upon the status of such person as a living organ donor.

(b)

Enforcement

A State insurance regulator may take such actions to enforce subsection (a) as are specifically authorized under the laws of such State.

(c)

Definitions

In this section:

(1)

Disability insurance policy

The term disability insurance policy means a contract under which an entity promises to pay a person a sum of money in the event that an illness or injury resulting in a disability prevents such person from working.

(2)

Life insurance policy

The term life insurance policy means a contract under which an entity promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death of the insured.

(3)

Living organ donor

The term living organ donor means an individual who has donated all or part of an organ and is not deceased.

(4)

Long-term care insurance policy

The term long-term care insurance policy means a contract for which the only insurance protection provided under the contract is coverage of qualified long-term care services (as defined in section 7702B(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986).

3.

Clarification of organ donation surgery as qualifying as a serious health condition under FMLA

(a)

Private sector employees

Section 101(11) of the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. 2611(11)) is amended by inserting (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) after physical or mental condition.

(b)

Federal civil service employees

(1)

Definition

Section 6381(5) of title 5, United States Code, is amended by inserting (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) after physical or mental condition.

(2)

Relationship to organ donor leave

Section 6382(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code is amended by adding at the end the following: An employee who takes any part of the 12-week period of leave under subsection (a)(1) to serve as an organ donor (including recovery from surgery related to organ donation) shall substitute, for as much of that part as possible, any leave available to the employee under section 6327..

4.

Updating of educational materials on the benefits and risks of living organ donation

(a)

Educational materials

(1)

Review and updating

Not later than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Health and Human Services (in this section referred to as the Secretary) shall review and update materials related to living organ donation in order to educate the public on—

(A)

the benefits and risks of living organ donation; and

(B)

the impact of living organ donation on the access of a living organ donor to insurance.

(2)

Information on statutory changes

Such updating shall include information on the changes made by sections 2 and 3 of this Act.

(b)

Methods of updating

In carrying out subsection (a), the Secretary shall update, as appropriate—

(1)

Public Service Announcements previously provided by the Secretary;

(2)

publicly accessible websites (such as organdonor.gov, or a successor website) that are maintained by the Secretary and that contain information and resources regarding living organ donation; and

(3)

other media determined appropriate by the Secretary.