YourVoice.Now Summary
Civil LibertiesTransparency & AccountabilityFederally funded transplant programs could not refuse a patient over a disability — or over needing help to follow care orders.
Civil Liberties
The ban covers transplant programs that get federal money. It also covers state and local government programs. Doctors may still weigh a disability. They must do a case-by-case review first, as federal law requires now.
A patient who cannot follow care orders alone may still qualify. If program changes or aids would let them comply, that cannot count against them.
A patient may pick someone to help them take in information and make health choices. Programs must allow this, unless it would change the program itself.
The national network matches donated organs to patients. This bill rewrites the law that guides it. Its rules for who gets an organ could not shut out people with a disability.
Complaints go to the HHS Office for Civil Rights. It must consider each one for faster handling. It may order a fix, using remedies current law already gives.
Transparency & Accountability
The first report is due one year after the bill becomes law. One more is due each year after that. It goes to two committees in Congress.
More about this bill
A disability could not be the reason a patient is turned down for an organ transplant. The ban would cover transplant programs that get federal money. It would also cover state and local government health programs. Those programs could not rule a patient out or deny care. They could not skip a referral or leave someone off a waiting list. The rule would apply at each step, from the first evaluation through follow-up care. Doctors would keep room for medical judgment. After a case-by-case review, a program may still weigh a disability where federal disability law allows it. But one thing could not be held against a patient. Needing help to follow care orders after surgery would not be enough to rule someone out. The test would be whether the patient could follow those orders with reasonable help or aids in place. Programs would have to change their rules and offer aids when needed. They could say no only if the change would alter the program itself or cost too much. A patient could also bring a support person into medical decisions. The national organ network would face a matching rule. Its medical rules for handing out organs could not shut people out based on disability. Patients who feel they were treated unfairly could complain to the HHS Office for Civil Rights. That office would have to consider handling those cases faster than usual. It could order a fix, using the same remedies as current disability law. Rights to sue under that law would stay in place. Starting one year after the bill became law, HHS would report to Congress each year. The report would cover how many complaints came in, how they were handled, and how they turned out.
Congressional Summary
Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act This bill expressly prohibits organ transplant service providers that receive federal funds and state and local government programs from denying or restricting an individual's access to organ transplants on the basis of the individual's disability, except in limited circumstances. Specifically, these entities may not take into account an individual's disability when providing transplant services, including with respect to eligibility, referrals for services, and placement on waiting lists. Entities must provide reasonable modifications to policies or appropriate auxiliary equipment and services unless doing so changes the fundamental nature of the program or activity involved. Any consideration of an individual's disability must be based on an individualized assessment and comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and other applicable laws. The Office for Civil Rights of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) must consider for expedited resolution complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability with respect to organ transplant services. HHS must annually report to Congress on complaints received and recommendations to improve enforcement of the bill. In addition, the bill prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's policies regarding allocating organs. This network is a public-private partnership linking professionals involved in the U.S. organ donation and transplantation system.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-06-22
- Date Added
- 2026-07-24
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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