AR212

An Assembly Resolution supporting the NJ Sharing Network and opposing the new federal rules on organ procurement organizations.

Whereas, The organ procurement organizations serving New Jersey have seen record levels of success in increasing organ donor registration and recoveries and, as a result, have saved the lives of 15,372 citizens over the past 32 years; and

Whereas, Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, New Jersey procurement organizations and transplant hospitals have continued their successful partnership to save lives through transplants, with levels of transplants equaling numbers from preceding years; and

Whereas, The donation rate achieved by the NJ Sharing Network, New Jersey’s largest organ procurement organization, has increased at a rate of 35 percent over the past five years; and

Whereas, The NJ Sharing Network has demonstrated particular success in its outreach to minority and disadvantaged persons in New Jersey; and

Whereas, Despite these record gains, the Trump administration has implemented a new performance review process for organ procurement organizations under 42 C.F.R. Part 486, which threatens to shut down as many as half of the organ procurement organizations in the country in the next five years, with no plans for an alternate infrastructure to save the lives of nearly 4,000 New Jersey citizens awaiting life-saving organs; and

Whereas, The data upon which the Trump Administration is purporting to base its actions are not only inaccurate and biased but prohibited from such use by a federal contract executed between the Department of Health and the National Center for Health Statistics, which restricts the use of state-provided death certificate data to only medical and health research; and

Whereas, It is in the best interest of this State and health of its citizens to oppose the enforcement of 42 C.F.R. Part 486, which threatens to significantly reduce the number of organ procurement organizations based on inaccurate and invalid data; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. This House condemns the enforcement of any regulation purporting to assess any organ procurement organization’s performance based upon standards derived from inaccurate and invalid data.

2. This House further urges the State of New Jersey to enforce its contract with the National Center for Health Statistics, which restricts the use of state-provided death certificate data to only medical and health research and specifically prohibits its use in regulation and legislation such as that contained in 42 C.F.R. Part 486.

3. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of the United States, the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, and the Governor.

STATEMENT

This resolution condemns the enforcement of any regulation, including, but not limited to 42 C.F.R. Part 486, which purports to assess any organ procurement organization’s performance based upon standards derived from inaccurate and invalid data. The resolution further urges the State of New Jersey to enforce its contract with the National Center for Health Statistics, which restricts the use of state-provided death certificate data to only medical and health research and specifically prohibits the use of such data for the purposes of regulation and legislation.

The organ procurement organizations serving New Jersey have seen record levels of success in increasing organ donor registration and recoveries and as a result, have saved the lives of 15,372 citizens over the past 32 years. The donation rate achieved by the NJ Sharing Network, New Jersey’s largest organ procurement organization, has increased at a rate of 35 percent over the past five years. Despite these record gains, the Trump administration has implemented a new performance review process for organ procurement organizations under 42 C.F.R. Part 486, which threatens to shut down as many as half of the organ procurement organizations in the country in the next five years, with no plans for an alternate infrastructure to save the lives of nearly 4,000 New Jersey citizens awaiting life-saving organs. The data upon which the Trump Administration is purporting to base its actions are not only inaccurate and biased but prohibited from such use by a federal contract between the Department of Health and the National Center for Health Statistics, which restricts the use of state-provided death certificate data to only medical and health research. It is in the best interest of this State and health of its citizens to oppose the enforcement of 42 C.F.R. Part 486 and other similar regulations that threaten to significantly reduce the number of organ procurement organizations based on inaccurate and invalid data.