Statement from Tiffany Scheffler, Executive Director of the National Kidney Foundation (NKF) serving Eastern Missouri, Metro East and Arkansas on Arkansas House Bill 1679
Kansas City, MO (March 26, 2025) – “We at the National Kidney Foundation recognize and deeply empathize with the personal experiences that have motivated the authors of Arkansas House Bill 1679. Their dedication to honoring and protecting the memory of loved ones is commendable. However, we must express our opposition to this bill.
In Arkansas, approximately 300 individuals are currently on the organ transplant waiting list, hoping for a second chance at life. While 62% of eligible Arkansas residents are registered as organ donors, the need for organs still far exceeds the supply. Nationwide, about 12 people die each day while waiting for a transplant. Though well-intentioned, HB1679 introduces potential problems that will likely take all of those statistics in the wrong direction.
HB1679 undermines the legally documented wishes of donors by allowing next of kin to override, modify, or revoke an individual's decision to be an organ donor. NKF firmly believes that a person’s documented decision to donate organs should be honored. Allowing others to revoke that decision undermines autonomy and could reduce the number of transplants.
By enabling family members — including more distant relatives — to reverse a donation, the bill introduces new points of failure in the donation process. OPOs may lose viable organs because of disagreement among next of kin and that could cost lives.
NKF has consistently advocated removing barriers to donation, not adding them. We urge legislators to develop policies to facilitate a more streamlined and accessible process for both organ donors and recipients, ultimately enhancing the efficiency of the transplantation system and saving more lives in the process.
About the National Kidney Foundation
The National Kidney Foundation is revolutionizing the fight to save lives by eliminating preventable kidney disease, accelerating innovation for the dignity of the patient experience, and dismantling structural inequities in kidney care, dialysis, and transplantation. For more information, visit www.kidney.org.
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Media Contacts:
Paul McGee, 716-523-6874
Email: paul.mcgee@kidney.org