S. 957Senate119th Congress (2025-2027)In Committee

A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate consideration of the income of organ recipients in providing reimbursement of expenses to donating individuals, and for other purposes.

AI-Generated Summary

Updated November 24, 2025 at 2:01 AM UTC

The Honor Our Living Donors Act changes the Public Health Service Act so that reimbursements to living organ donors are not tied to the income of the organ recipients. It also eliminates any expectation that recipients must pay donors. Additionally, the law mandates an annual report on the adequacy of grant funding for donor expense reimbursements.

Key Provisions

Adds a rule that when a grant is used to reimburse a living organ donor, the donor’s reimbursement cannot be based on the income of the organ recipient.
Deletes language that suggests organ recipients are expected to make payments to donors, removing any implied financial obligation on recipients.
Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to issue an annual public report to Congress on whether grant funding fully covered donors’ qualifying expenses, including estimates of any shortfalls and the total funding needed.

Legislative Activity

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SenateIntro Referral Latest Action

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

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 11, 2025

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SenateIntro Referral

Introduced in Senate

March 11, 2025

SenateIntro Referral

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

Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

March 11, 2025

Bill Text

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Introduced in SenateIssued March 11, 2025

119th CONGRESS

1st Session

S. 957

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

March 11 (legislative day, March 10), 2025

Mr. Luján (for himself and Mr. Boozman) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions

A BILL

To amend the Public Health Service Act to eliminate consideration of the income of organ recipients in providing reimbursement of expenses to donating individuals, and for other purposes.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Honor Our Living Donors Act.

No consideration of income of organ recipient

Section 377 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 274f) is amended—

(1)

by redesignating subsections (c) through (f) as subsections (d) through (g), respectively;

(2)

by inserting after subsection (b) the following:

(c)

No consideration of income of organ recipient

The recipient of a grant under this section, in providing reimbursement to a donating individual through such grant, shall not give any consideration to the income of the organ recipient.

; and

(3)

in subsection (f), as so redesignated—

(A)

in paragraph (1), by striking subsection (c)(1) and inserting subsection (d)(1); and

(B)

in paragraph (2), by striking subsection (c)(2) and inserting subsection (d)(2).

Removal of expectation of payments by organ recipients

Section 377(e) of the Public Health Service Act (4224 U.S.C. 274f(e)), as redesignated by section 2(1), is amended—

(1)

in paragraph (1), by adding or at the end;

(2)

in paragraph (2), by striking ; or and inserting a period; and

(3)

by striking paragraph (3).

Annual report

Section 377 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 274f), as amended by sections 2 and 3, is amended by adding at the end the following:

(h)

Annual report

Not later than December 31 of each year, the Secretary shall—

(1)

prepare, submit to Congress, and make public a report on whether grants under this section provided adequate funding during the preceding fiscal year to reimburse all donating individuals participating in the grant program under this section for all qualifying expenses; and

(2)

include in each such report—

(A)

the estimated number of all donating individuals participating in the grant program under this section who did not receive reimbursement for all qualifying expenses during the preceding fiscal year; and

(B)

the total amount of funding that is estimated to be necessary to fully reimburse donating individuals participating in the grant program under this section for all qualifying expenses.