Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act
The Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act would bar covered health-care entities from denying or limiting access to organ transplants, or related services, purely because a patient has a disability. It broadens protections across the entire organ transplant process—from evaluation and listing to post-transplant care and related services—by requiring reasonable accommodations and modifications to policies, and by recognizing the role of support networks and supported decision-making in making health decisions. The law would authorize enforcement through the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) with expedited resolution options, while clarifying that existing disability laws and stronger state laws remain in effect. While it aims to improve access for disabled individuals, it also preserves a physician-determined medical exception where disability is medically significant to transplant eligibility.
Key Points
- 1Prohibition of disability-based discrimination: Covered entities may not, solely due to disability, deem an individual ineligible, deny an organ transplant or related services, fail to refer for transplant, or refuse to place on a transplant waiting list.
- 2Medically significant disability exception: Institutions may consider a disability if a physician, after an individualized evaluation, determines it is medically significant to the transplant decision. This cannot be used to mandate inappropriate transplants. If a qualified individual has sufficient support to comply with post-transplant requirements, inability to comply independently should not automatically be treated as medically significant.
- 3Reasonable modifications and support: Covered entities must make reasonable modifications to policies or practices to make transplants available to individuals with disabilities. This includes accommodating post-surgical care, support networks, and the use of supported decision-making to help individuals participate in decisions.
- 4Expanded definitions and process coverage: The bill defines key terms (disability, organ transplant, related services, support network, etc.) and applies protections to the entire transplant process—evaluation, listing, the transplant itself, and post-transplant care, as well as related services like counseling and information.
- 5Enforcement and relationship to existing law: OCR can handle expedited resolutions for claims, and nothing in the bill would replace or reduce remedies available under the ADA or other laws. It allows for greater protections where states provide more rights.