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For Immediate Release
 
May 4, 2006
 

LAWMAKERS INTRODUCE LEGISLATION TO

STOP ILLEGAL BODY PARTS TRADE

 
 
 
Washington, DC - Congressman Gene Green (D-TX) and Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), both members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the Safe Tissue Act in the House of Representatives.  The legislation was introduced in the Senate by U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT).   

 

            The legislation comes in response to recent revelations about a body parts ring operated out of New York and New Jersey.  According to prosecutors investigating the case, Fort Lee, New Jersey based Biomedical Transplant Services (BTS) stole human tissue in order to sell it for use in transplants and research.

 

            "Families who agree to donate the tissue of their deceased loved ones do so out of the kindness of their hearts," said Congressman Gene Green. "These selfless families deserve to know how the tissue will be used and that it will be handled in a respectful manner by a credible tissue bank that will not profit excessively off the death of their loved ones.  The Safe Tissue Act will put the appropriate regulations in place to give families those assurances and ensure all Americans that tissue donation is a truly honorable act that saves thousands of lives each year."  

 

            BTS is said to have sold the tissue and body parts to processing companies across the country without asking for the families' permission, and without testing for disease.  BTS allegedly forged consent documents and altered the cause of death and age of the deceased in order to make it appear the tissue came from a younger, healthier person.  Many recipients have come forward charging they contracted diseases such as HIV, hepatitis and syphilis from the stolen tissue.

 

            The lawmakers say the Safe Tissue Act will ensure that tissue donors are protected from those who seek to profit illegally from their goodwill, and will protect the health of tissue donation recipients by preventing them from receiving potentially harmful tissue.

 

            "In this real-life version of the body snatchers, healthy people are getting sick when they are supposed to be receiving life saving tissue transplants," added Senator Schumer. "Instead of getting better they are being implanted with contaminated tissue that was acquired illegally from corpses. And, to add insult to injury, there isn’t any accountability. It’s time for stronger regulations in the tissue transplant industry to become law."

 

            The legislation increases U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspections of tissue banks, authorizes the FDA to conduct periodic audits of donation documents, establishes minimum standards for consent forms, establishes an accreditation process for tissue banks and improves regulations on payments for donated body parts or tissue.

 

             

             "Both tissue donors and recipients must have confidence in the overall system, something that was seriously compromised by the outrageous actions of BTS," said Congressman Pallone.  "The Safe Tissue Act puts strong federal guidelines in place to give transplant recipients the peace of mind that they are receiving healthy donations while preventing profiteers from illegally desecrating bodies." 

 

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