A bill amending the National Organ Transplant Act to make paired kidney donations easier has passed the U.S. House and Senate. The Living Kidney Organ Donation Clarification Act (S. 487/H.R. 710) will benefit people needing a kidney transplant.

H.R. 710 clears up any legal questions about those specific types of kidney donations; by indicating that transfer of paired kidney donations would not be considered something that was done for financial gain. This legislation also will allow the Organ Procurement and Transplant Network to move quickly to establish a national registry of pairs which transplant centers can begin to implement.

The Senate version of this legislation (S. 487) was sponsored by Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI). The House version was sponsored by Rep. Charlie Norwood (R-GA) , who passed away earlier this year. President Bush is sign the bill into law.

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