Sponsors (48)
The bill offers sizable, time-limited tax credits to encourage anonymous kidney donation and reduces legal risk for transplant actors, but it shifts fiscal costs to taxpayers, raises ethical concerns about financial incentives for organs, and may not fully help low-income donors or all donor types.
Anonymous kidney donors receive up to $10,000 per year for five years (up to $50,000) in federal tax credits, with accelerated payout to a donor's estate if the donor dies, providing direct financial support and reducing their federal income tax liability.
Patients, transplant candidates, and transplant providers face reduced legal risk because the bill clarifies the credit is not 'valuable consideration' under the National Organ Transplant Act, lowering the chance the credit would be treated as an illicit payment for organs.
Potential donors—especially economically vulnerable individuals—may face ethical pressure and increased risk of exploitation because the credit functions as a financial incentive, raising concerns about commodification of body parts.
All taxpayers collectively bear the fiscal cost of the credits through reduced federal revenue, which could increase the deficit or require reductions in other government spending.
Low-income potential donors may not receive the full benefit because the credit is nonrefundable, so people with little or no income tax liability could be unable to claim the full value, limiting the incentive for those who may need money most.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a tax credit of $10,000 per year for five years for qualified non-directed living kidney donors (applies to kidneys removed 2027–2036).
Introduced April 7, 2025 by Nicole Malliotakis · Last progress April 7, 2025
Creates a new federal income tax credit that pays individuals who make a qualified non-directed living kidney donation $10,000 per year for five years (the year of donation plus the four succeeding tax years). The credit applies only to kidneys removed after December 31, 2026, and expires for donations after December 31, 2036. The bill defines a qualified non-directed living kidney donation as a living donor kidney removal when the donor does not know the recipient's identity or any other person receiving an organ in connection with the donation. It also includes a special rule that accelerates payment of any remaining credit if the donor dies during the credit period, and it clarifies that this tax credit is not treated as prohibited "valuable consideration" under federal organ transplantation law.