Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act

(This measure has not been amended since it was reported to the Senate on November 24, 2003. The summary of that version is repeated here.)

Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act - (Sec. 2) Expresses the sense of Congress that the Federal Government should carry out programs to educate the public with respect to organ donation, including the need to provide for an adequate rate of donations. States that Congress: (1) acknowledges the importance of discussing organ and tissue donation as a family; (2) recognizes the contribution made by each living individual who has donated an organ; and (3) acknowledges the advances in medical technology that have enabled organ transplantation through living organ donors to become a viable treatment option.

(Sec. 3) Amends the Public Health Service Act to authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to award grants to States, transplant centers, qualified organ procurement organizations or other public or private entities for reimbursement of travel and subsistence expenses incurred by individuals toward making living organ donations. Authorizes FY 2004 through 2008 appropriations.

(Sec. 4) Directs the Secretary to: (1) directly or through grants or contracts, establish a public education program to increase awareness about organ donation and the need to provide for an adequate rate of donations; and (2) support the development and dissemination of educational materials to inform health care professionals about organ, tissue, and eye donation issues, including those relating to patient, family, and cultural sensitivities.

Authorizes the Secretary to make: (1) peer reviewed grants or contracts to public and nonprofit private entities for studies and demonstration projects to increase organ donation and recovery rates, including living donation; and (2) grants to States for organ donor awareness, public education and outreach activities, and programs designed to increase the number of organ donors within the State, including living donors.

Authorizes additional FY 2004 through 2008 appropriations for such studies and grants.

Authorizes the Secretary to award matching grants to qualified organ procurement organizations and hospitals to establish programs coordinating organ donation activities of eligible hospitals and qualified organ procurement organizations. (Defines an eligible hospital as a hospital that performs significant trauma care, or a hospital or consortium of hospitals that serves a population base of not fewer than 200,000 individuals.) Requires a grantee to: (1) establish joint organ procurement organization and hospital designated leadership responsibility and accountability; (2) develop agreed upon project performance goals; and (3) collaboratively design and implement a data collection process to provide ongoing project feedback. Authorizes FY 2004 through 2008 appropriations.

(Sec. 5) Directs the Secretary, through the Director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to: (1) develop scientific evidence supporting increased donation and improved recovery, preservation, and transportation of donated organs; and (2) support efforts to develop a uniform clinical vocabulary and technology and to enhance the skills of the organ procurement workforce. Authorizes FY 2004 through 2008 appropriations.

(Sec. 6) Directs the Secretary, by December 31, 2005, and biennially thereafter, to report on organ donation and recovery activities.

(Sec. 7) Authorizes the Secretary to establish and maintain mechanisms to evaluate the long-term effects associated with living organ donations by individuals who have served as living donors.

(Sec. 8) Directs the Secretary, in consultation with appropriate entities, including advocacy groups for populations that are likely to be disproportionately affected by proposals to increase cadaveric donation, to report on the ethical implications of such proposals.

(Sec. 9) Eliminates certain grant authority with respect to qualified organ procurement organizations.