US House, Senate pass transplant legislation clearing way for first reauthorization of NOTA in 14 years.

The first reauthorization of the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA) in 14 years is just a signature by President Bush away from becoming law. After 2 months of inaction, the House of Representatives passed the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act (H.R. 3926) on March 24. The Senate followed suit a day later on March 25. The legislation is expect to be on the president's desk in the very near future. The vote was nearly unanimous-414-2-with only Reps. Ron Paul (R-TX) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) voting in opposition.

The House bill, which was guided through the House by Representative Michael Bilirakis (R-FL), was virtually identical to The Donation and Recovery Improvement Act (S.573) passed by the Senate on November 25, 2003. (Transplant News, November 30, 2003)

The only change in the bill is the effective dates-the Senate bill was FY 04, the House bill is effective FY 05--the bills are virtually identical.

The bill authorizes $25 million to be appropriated for carrying out a variety of provisions, including:

*$5 million for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses incurred by living donors;

*$3 million in funding to hospitals to hire in-house organ procurement coordinators;

*$15 million in grants for developing public awareness programs and demonstration projects to increase organ donation; and

*$2 million in support of studies on increasing organ donation, and improving the recovery, preservation and transportation of organs.

The last reauthorization of NOTA occurred in 1990 when both houses passed a bill which was signed by then President George Herbert Walker Bush