To improve the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill reforms the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN), the system that manages organ donation and transplantation in the United States. It allows the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements to multiple organizations to operate different parts of the network, ending the single-contractor monopoly structure.
Who Benefits and How
- Patients waiting for organ transplants may benefit from improved organ matching and allocation through competition and modernization of the network.
- New technology vendors and organ matching system providers gain the opportunity to compete for OPTN contracts that were previously held by a single entity.
- Transplant centers and organ procurement organizations may see improved technology and coordination through a restructured network.
Who Bears the Burden and How
- UNOS (United Network for Organ Sharing), the current sole contractor operating OPTN since 1986, loses its monopoly position and faces competition for network functions.
- HHS must manage a more complex contracting structure with multiple entities instead of a single contractor.
Key Provisions
- Authorizes the Secretary to award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements (not just a single contract) to operate the OPTN
- Separates OPTN operations from the organization supporting the board of directors into distinct awards
- Requires GAO to review historical financing of OPTN and report on registration fee utilization within 2 years
- Updates technical references and committee names in the Public Health Service Act
- Changes OPTN reporting from "February 10 of 1991 and each second year thereafter" to every 2 years from enactment
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Reforms the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) by allowing the Secretary of HHS to break up the current single-contractor model, separating network operations from board governance, and enabling multiple entities to receive awards for different functions.
Key Policy Areas
Healthcare, Organ Transplantation
Primary Purpose
Reforms the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network (OPTN) by allowing the Secretary of HHS to break up the current single-contractor model, separating network operations from board governance, and enabling multiple entities to receive awards for different functions.
Policy Domains
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedReceived
Additional sponsors: Mr. Curtis, Ms. Kuster, Mr. Bost, Mr. Costa, …
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the …
Mr. Bucshon (for himself and Ms. Kelly of Illinois) introduced …
Impact analysis is available but no clear stakeholder effects identified. View clause-level analysis →
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of Health and Human Services
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General (GAO)
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology