[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 125 (Thursday, July 30, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Page S4353]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                        Organ Transplant Program

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, in a bipartisan approach, about 5 years 
ago, we passed legislation to correct the wrongs in our organ 
transplant program.
  So, in my two decades spent fighting for U.S. organ donation reforms, 
I have heard far too many stories of patients who have lost their lives 
due to the negligence and abuse of that transplant system.
  Recently, I requested the Government Accountability Office--GAO for 
short--to study and to report back to me about the challenges and the 
opportunities to improve pediatric organ allocation and 
transplantation, and that is a particularly difficult operation for the 
people that are involved in distributing organs.
  We have about 2,000 kids on a waiting list for organ transplants, and 
25 percent of that 2,000 are under the age of 5.
  Pediatric patients have limited time and opportunity to receive an 
organ transplant, as organ size is critical to successful 
transplantation.
  And this is especially true for kids waiting for liver transplants. 
Sadly, 1 in 10 infants listed for liver transplants never get a second 
chance at life.
  The organ procurement and transplantation system could do a better 
job of serving kids. We know that if a child can get an organ 
transplant in a timely manner, their chances of living a healthy, 
longer life increase.
  I am hopeful that GAO's findings will inform better oversight of the 
current organ system, and I am also hopeful that these same GAO 
findings will inform data-driven policymaking to improve the system for 
children and their families.
  I yield the floor.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.