ALBANY – Assemblyman Joe Sempolinski is sponsoring a bill to create the Organ Donation Fairness Act to ensure people with physical or mental disabilities are not discriminated against if they need an organ donation.

“No one should be denied a life-saving organ transplant because they have a mental or physical disability,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “I want to make sure that people with disabilities are viewed as equals when they need an organ donation. That’s why I am sponsoring this bill.”

Assemblyman Sempolinski co-sponsored a federal version of the bill, the Charlotte Woodward Organ Transplant Discrimination Prevention Act, when he was a member of Congress, representing the 23^rd Congressional District.

“This issue is near and dear to my heart. My daughter, my hero, Jojo, has multiple congenital heart defects. She also has Down Syndrome. Jojo’s life and the lives of all New Yorkers with disabilities are as precious and sacred as anyone else’s life and they deserve equal treatment and consideration if they need an organ transplant,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said.

State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt sponsors the bill in the Senate. He thanked Assemblyman Sempolinski for carrying the bill in the Assembly.

"All life is sacred – and just because an individual has a physical or intellectual disability, doesn’t mean they should be lower on the list to receive life-saving care,” Sen. Ortt said. “The Americans with Disabilities Act expressly prohibits discrimination against these individuals, yet it still exists in our healthcare system when a person with disabilities is in need of an organ donation. This legislation would level the field and protect individuals with disabilities from discriminatory practices.”

Sen. Ortt is the former chairman of the Senate’s Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committee and Assemblyman Sempolinski is the Ranking Member of the Assembly Mental Health Committee and a member of People with Disabilities committee.

Their legislation, S02206 in the Senate and A6924 in the Assembly, is under review by the Senate and Assembly Mental Health Committees.

Family members and other advocates for the disabled, including the National Down Syndrome Society and the ARC, have called for the legislation and more transparency in the organ transplant eligibility process. Similar laws have been adopted by other states.

“I look forward to working with Sen. Ortt and our colleagues in the Senate and Assembly to get this incredibly important bill passed in the coming legislative session,” Assemblyman Sempolinski said. “I also want to thank Sen. Ortt for asking me to join him in championing this effort to protect New Yorkers with disabilities.”