A New Bill Wants to Put the Organ Donor Question on Your Passport and Tax Return

Most people think of the DMV when they think about registering as an organ donor. A new bipartisan bill in Congress wants to change that.

What the bill would do

The Lauren Shields Organ Donation Act (H.R. 10884) was introduced in the U.S. House on October 22, 2026. It's led by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), with Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) as a cosponsor (Congress.gov; Gottheimer press release).>

It would let people sign up as organ donors on federal forms they already fill out, including:

  • Passport applications
  • Social Security and Medicare applications
  • Veterans benefits claims
  • Federal income tax returns

According to the sponsors, the bill would also:

  • Have HHS, through HRSA, build a secure, automated electronic system to help update a person's donor status across state and national registries
  • Create an optional HRSA grant program to help states add donor registration to more of their own forms, like Medicaid, SNAP, WIC, and voter registration (Lawler press release)>

Who Lauren Shields was

Lauren Shields was from Stony Point, New York. As a young child she went into severe heart failure, spent about six weeks on the transplant list, and received a new heart. In 2020 she received a kidney from her mother, Jeanne. She became a passionate organ donation advocate. Lauren died on June 26, 2026, at just 26 years old (Gottheimer press release).>

Lauren's Law, the New York version

Lauren helped inspire New York's Lauren's Law, signed in October 2012 and in effect since October 2013. Before it, the organ donor section on a New York driver's license or ID application was optional and easy to skip. Lauren's Law made applicants answer it, by checking "yes" or "skip this question" (CBS New York; NY Assembly bill A10039-B).>

Now lawmakers want to take that idea nationwide.

Why I think this matters

We spend a lot of time in organ donation talking about how to grow the donor pool. But sometimes the answer isn't new technology or a complicated policy change. Sometimes it's simply giving people more chances to say yes, and making sure that choice is written down when it matters.

From my time at the bedside and in OPO work, I can tell you a registered decision can make a real difference when we sit with a family during one of the worst moments of their lives. A documented decision doesn't replace compassion, clear communication, or family support. But it can make a person's wishes much clearer.

For CPTC candidates

If you're studying for the CPTC, this ties right into first-person authorization. When someone has registered as a donor, that registration is their own legal authorization for donation. The conversation with the family shifts from "would you like to donate?" to sharing and honoring what their loved one already decided. Know how authorization works in your state, and how your OPO checks the registry, before your first family approach.

Where it stands

H.R. 10884 has been introduced and referred to the House committees on Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Veterans' Affairs, and Foreign Affairs. It is not law. Bills like this often take a long time, and many never get a vote. But this one is worth watching.

Sources

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