We're rallying Congress and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to defend the life-saving U.S. organ donation and transplant system, ensuring it remains free from profit-driven control.
On July 27, Congress passed H.R.2544 / S.1668, a bill that allows for-profit companies to take over the organ donation and transplant system without having any experience in this work and without any limit to the amount of funding they could be paid by the government.
We refuse to let that become a reality! Preserving the nonprofit status of the system is essential for placing patients and donors at the forefront, rather than monetary gains. Organ donation has been a source of hope, saving countless lives. We firmly oppose any changes that put profits over human lives.
This fall, HRSA will begin accepting bids from both non-profits and for-profits to run various components of the transplant system. We urge the agency to keep altruism at the core of the system and choose nonprofits to manage this vital work – most importantly the policymaking, which governs how patients are prioritized on organ waitlists.
At the same time, we urge Congress to revise H.R.2544 / S.1668 to disallow for-profit companies from taking over the system. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) has the power to do that. Otherwise, even if HRSA picks non-profits this year, there would be nothing in U.S. law preventing for-profits from taking over later.
Join our united front and demand that our government acts responsibly. Sign the petition today to safeguard patients, honor the sanctity of organ donation, and ensure universal accessibility.
Why is this important?
The magnitude of this legislation passing cannot be underestimated. It marks a shift in focus from serving those in dire need to favoring those who can afford to pay the most. This blatant disregard for the core principle of organ donation, which is to save lives based on medical urgency, not financial capabilities, is a betrayal of the trust bestowed upon organ donors. We cannot let profit-driven motives erode the fairness and ethical foundations of organ transplantation. We must raise our voices and protect a system that unequivocally values life over financial gain.
By removing a legal requirement that has been in place for nearly forty years, which mandates only nonprofits with experience in this field can bid on contracts to manage the system, the door is opened for profit-seeking entities to exploit the vulnerable and turn the selfless and altruistic gifts of donor heroes into transactional commodities.
We refuse to compromise the profound impact of organ donation by placing financial gain above human well-being.
This petition invites all who have been touched by the miraculous act of organ donation – including transplant patients and waiting candidates, organ donor family members, caregivers, and concerned citizens – to have our voices heard and demand the federal government acts responsibly. Our petition does not represent any particular organizations, associations or other groups within or outside of the organ donation and transplant system, nor are we doing this in the interest of any such groups. We are patients and donor families, parents and friends, and everyday men and women who in one way or another have been touched by the noble gift of organ donation and the lifesaving surgeries it enables. We also do not oppose any true efforts to improve the organ donation and transplant system. However, we oppose seeing those efforts subverted to the benefit of for-profit companies, which would jeopardize human lives.
Let us stand united in protecting the lives of patients, honoring the generous gift of organ donation, and safeguarding the nonprofit status of our organ donation and transplant system.
Sign this petition today and add your voice to the rising chorus of those who believe that compassion, not profit, must guide the U.S. organ transplant system. Together, we can ensure that organ donation remains unyielding, accessible, and dedicated only to the welfare of those in need.