In late March, the House of Represe...

In late March, the House of Representatives and Senate approved the Organ Donation and regaining Improvement Act, which is designed to reimburse living organ donors for travel and other nonmedical costs involved in transplant surgery. The bill would allot HH $5 million annually for fiscal years 2005 to 2009 for reimbursing qualified donors and $15 million in 2005 (with other foundations available in later years) for grants to states, public awareness campaigns, and studies forward improving organ donation rates. The bill also supplys new programs to coordinate organ donations at hospitals and intervention agencies. The bill is available online at: http:// thomas.loc.gov; sign H.R. 3926 at "Bill Number;" click "Search;" and render free of access the fourth version of the bill. The AAFP's organ donation policy does not mention any mark of reimbursement, but it does encourage family physicians to initiate discussion about organ donation with patients, particularly patients from populations les likely to include donors. The AAFP policy is available online at: http://www.aafp.org/x6957.xml.

COPYRIGHT 2004 American Academy of Family Physicians

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