ATLANTA — Members of the Georgia House of Representatives filed legislation to ban discrimination against potential organ recipients over their vaccination status.
House Bill 522 would make it illegal to block organ transplants for those in need solely due to their lack of receiving COVID-19 vaccines.
The bill says whether or not a patient has been vaccinated for the coronavirus should have no bearing on their ability to receive an “anatomical gift,” which the legislation defines as the donation of any part or all of a human body conditioned upon the donor’s death for transplant or transfusion.
The bill adds vaccination status to current state law, which has provisions to prevent discrimination in transplant recipients based on whether or not they have a disability.
Those who have refused to receive a COVID vaccine would not be subject to removal from organ transplant waiting lists or prevented from being placed upon one, if the decision comes down to whether or not they’ve received the vaccine or vaccine doses.
Qualified patients would also be protected from being put further down on the waitlist based on their COVID vaccination status, according to the bill text.
The discrimination ban over vaccine status would also apply to insurance coverage. Those in need of health coverage would not face refusal of insurance over their vaccination status, according to HB 522.
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