This bill strengthens legal and job protections and improves outreach for living organ donors—reducing financial and employment barriers to donation—but does so while imposing modest costs and administrative burdens on insurers, employers, states, and taxpayers and creating some risk of uneven implementation or delays.
People who become living organ donors are less likely to be denied or charged higher premiums for life, disability, or long-term care insurance, reducing the financial risk of donation.
Employees who donate organs (private and federal) can take FMLA-protected leave for surgery and recovery, preserving job protection during donation-related leave.
Federal employees may substitute other paid leave for organ-donation leave, reducing unpaid leave and potential income loss for those workers.
Insurers could face higher underwriting or administrative costs if barred from considering donor-related risks, which could translate into higher premiums for some policyholders.
Protections and remedies for donors will vary by state, producing uneven coverage and enforcement depending on where a donor lives.
Private employers—particularly small businesses—may face increased leave usage and higher administrative burdens to accommodate organ-donor leave.
Based on analysis of 4 sections of legislative text.
Introduced May 1, 2025 by Thomas Bryant Cotton · Last progress May 1, 2025
Prohibits life, disability, and long‑term care insurers from refusing, canceling, or charging higher premiums solely because a person is a living organ donor, except when there are real, unique actuarial risks. Clarifies that organ donation surgery and the donor’s recovery count as a serious health condition under the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) for private, covered public, and federal civil service employees, and lets federal employees substitute other applicable paid leave during donor leave. Requires HHS, working with Labor as needed, to update public education and outreach about these rules within six months.