Living Donation Facts

Legal Aspects

In 1984 Congress passed the National Organ Transplant Act (NOTA), which prohibits the sale of human organs. However, the payment of "the expenses of travel, housing, and lost wages incurred by the donor of a human organ in connection with the donation of the organ" is expressly permitted by section 301 of NOTA.

View NOTA in its entirety now

Read more about the OPTN's authority over living donation

Reference and Publication Information

The United Network for Organ Sharing is committed to providing accurate and reliable information for transplant patients. To learn more about our content authorship and review process, please read about our Editorial Board.

The content on this page was originally created on February 25, 2005 by the United Network for Organ Sharing and last modified on January 23, 2006.

This web site is intended solely for the purpose of electronically providing the public with general health-related information and convenient access to the data resources. UNOS is not affiliated with any one product nor does UNOS assume responsibility for any error, omissions or other discrepancies.