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CIVIC HERALD
S 1782 · 119th Congress · SenateOther

Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act

In plain language: This bill prohibits healthcare providers and transplant centers from denying patients an organ transplant or a spot on a waiting list solely because of a disability. Doctors cannot disqualify a patient simply because they rely on family members, caregivers, or communication aids to manage their post-surgery care and medications. While medical teams may still evaluate whether a condition directly affects transplant success, patients who face improper denials can seek fast-track civil rights enforcement.

Provisional: our plain-language summary, pending review.

Provisionalunreviewed: impact, issue tags, provisions, stakeholders, summary
People affected—not determinable from the text provided
Fiscal magnitude—no CBO estimate published
Reach38provisional · pending reviewrigor: heuristic llm
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Issues

What this bill touches.

Disability access+40

The sign shows the bill's direction on each issue (+ toward, − away); the number is its magnitude. Color never encodes good or bad, and never party.

Who it affects

Who it helps · who it burdens.

Who it helps

  • Individuals with disabilities needing organ transplantsGains protection against being denied organ transplants, specialist referrals, or placement on transplant waiting lists solely based on disability, and gains rights to reasonable modifications, auxiliary aids, and supported decision-making assistance (Sec. 3, Sec. 4(a)-(c)).provisional

Who it burdens

  • Covered health care providers and transplant hospitalsMust not deny transplants, referrals, or waitlist spots based on disability, must perform individualized medical evaluations, and must provide reasonable modifications and auxiliary communication aids unless doing so causes an undue burden or fundamental alteration (Sec. 4(a)-(d)).provisional
  • National organ transplant network board of directorsProhibited from issuing policies, recommendations, or organ allocation criteria that restrict or discriminate against individuals on the basis of disability (Sec. 3).provisional
  • Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil RightsRequired to process organ transplant discrimination complaints through expedited or early resolution procedures and submit annual reporting to Congress on complaints, resolutions, resource needs, and recommendations (Sec. 4(d), Sec. 4(e)).provisional

Dollar-level funding (FEC sector totals) is coming in a later phase.

What it does

The provisions, in plain language.

  1. Bars health care providers and transplant hospitals from denying organ transplants, related medical services, specialist referrals, or spots on a transplant waitlist solely because of an individual's disability.

    Sec. 4(a)provisional

  2. Permits health care providers to consider a disability only if an individualized medical evaluation by a physician finds it directly significant to the transplant or related care.

    Sec. 4(b)(1)provisional

  3. Prohibits health care providers from considering a patient's inability to independently manage post-transplant care as medically significant if they have a support network to assist them.

    Sec. 4(b)(2)provisional

  4. Requires health care providers to make reasonable policy and practice changes to ensure individuals with disabilities can receive organ transplants, unless doing so would fundamentally alter their operations.

    Sec. 4(c)provisional

  5. Bars national organ allocation criteria established under federal law from discriminating against potential recipients on the basis of disability.

    Sec. 3provisional

  6. Prohibits federally funded and public health care entities from denying transplants, referrals, waitlist placement, or related medical services based on an individual's disability.

    Sec. 4(a)provisional

  7. Clarifies that health care providers may only evaluate disability through individualized assessments and cannot disqualify a patient for post-transplant care needs if reasonable modifications or aids allow them to comply.

    Sec. 4(b)provisional

How your members of Congress line up

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Timeline

How it moved.

  1. Jun 22, 2026Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 441.
  2. Jun 22, 2026Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  3. Jun 22, 2026Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Reported by Senator Cassidy with an amendment in the nature of a substitute. Without written report.
  4. Jun 17, 2026Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
  5. May 15, 2025Introduced in Senate

The original text

Read it for yourself.

Read the original text →

Sources & provenance

Congress.govrefreshed 17 days ago

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