[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 18 (Tuesday, February 2, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E110]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             THE INTRODUCTION OF THE ORGAN DONOR LEAVE ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. ELIJAH E. CUMMINGS

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 2, 1999

  Mr. CUMMINGS. Mr. Speaker, during the last 20 years, important 
medical breakthroughs such as tissue typing and immunosuppresent drugs 
have allowed for a larger number of successful organ transplants and a 
longer survival rate for transplant recipients. Certain organs, such as 
a single kidney, a lobe of a lung, a segment of the liver or a portion 
of the pancreas, can be transplanted from living donors, making it 
possible for them to save the lives of family members, coworkers, and 
friends.
  Currently, federal employees may use up to 7 days of leave in each 
calendar year to serve as an organ or bone marrow donor. Yet, 
experience has shown that an organ transplant operation and post-
operative recovery for living donors may take as long as six to eight 
weeks. In order to address this disparity, I worked with the Office of 
Personnel Management (OPM) and the Department of Health and Human 
Services (HHS) in drafting this legislation to increase the amount of 
leave that may be used for organ donation to 30 days. The amount of 
leave that may be used for bone marrow donation will remain at 7 days 
because that is generally adequate for recovery from bone marrow 
donations.
  Under this legislation, donors will not have to be concerned with 
using their personal sick or annual leave for these vital medical 
procedures because the leave granted is in addition to what they 
routinely earn.
  The bill passed the House during the last Congress but the Senate 
failed to act on it before adjournment. I reintroduced this bill at the 
beginning of the 106th Congress in the hope that there will be ample 
time to win its enactment.
  The Organ Donor Leave Act has the support of the American Society of 
Transplantation (AST), the largest professional transplant organization 
in the United States. In a letter expressing its support, the ASTP 
stated, ``. . . a lack of leave time has served as a significant 
impediment and disincentive for individuals willing to share the gift-
of-life.
  Since the first kidney transplant in 1954, hundreds of patients have 
received successful transplants from living donors. Yet, each day, 
while 55 people receive an organ transplant, another 10 people on 
waiting lists die because not enough organs are available. A new name 
is added to a waiting list every 18 minutes in the United States. In 
1997 only 15,000 people donated organs, leaving 35,000 people 
desperately in need. Currently, over 58,000 are waiting for a life 
saving organ transplant.
  One lung can help another person breathe. One kidney can free someone 
from dialysis. A portion of a liver could save the life of a patient 
dying from disease. One's bone marrow could help repair another 
person's damaged joints.
  This legislation will give federal employees who may consider 
becoming organ donors the assurance that they will be granted an 
adequate amount of time to recuperate from the life saving process that 
they voluntarily undertake. It will also serve as a guide and 
encouragement to other employers, public and private, to provide 
similar benefits to their employees. I urge all members to give it your 
support.

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