U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Mountlake Terrace, is partnering with UW physicians, organ donation professionals, and patients in a push for legislation to encourage and promote organ donation.

Inslee, whose son received a cornea transplant after falling victim to a congenital vision condition, co-sponsored HR 3926, the Organ Donation and Recovery Improvement Act. The legislation was introduced March 10, and is expected to pass the House of Representatives soon.

It has drawn the support of UW physicians involved in organ donation, including Connie Davis, professor of medicine and medical director of the Kidney and Kidney-Pancreas Transplant Program at UW Medical Center, and Mike Mulligan, associate professor of surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. LifeCenter Northwest, a nonprofit organization that facilitates organ donation and transplantation in the Pacific Northwest, is also supporting the legislation.

The bill includes federal funding for organ donation coordinators at many hospitals. Hospitals adding a staff member devoted to organ donation efforts have seen an increase in the number of donations, Inslee said.

For families considering a living organ donation, the legislation would also create a federal assistance program to help offset the expenses associated with the donation. It would also increase research funding for organ donation efforts.

Such legislation is needed to boost organ donations, supporters said, because 84,000 Americans are on recipient waiting lists and about 6,000 die each year waiting for transplants.