Back to Massachusetts

H4049 • 2025

An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment

An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Russell E. Holmes
Last action
2026-03-19
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5254 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment

An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment By Representative Holmes of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment By Representative Holmes of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 4049) of Russell E.
  • Holmes for legislation to establish a prisoner donation program.
  • Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-19 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5254 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-06-20 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/26/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  3. 2025-04-24 Senate

    Senate concurred

  4. 2025-04-22 House

    Referred to the committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act relative to saving lives through awareness and enactment
By Representative Holmes of Boston, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4049) of Russell E. Holmes for legislation to establish a prisoner donation program. Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
×

Bill H.4049

Chapter 127 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 172. (a) As used in this section, the following words shall, unless the context clearly appears otherwise, have the following meanings:-

"Approved medical transplant center", a medical facility certified by the United Network for Organ Sharing and meeting all applicable state and federal standards for organ and tissue transplantation.

"Donor gift", a donation of blood, cell tissue, bone marrow, kidney, liver segment or other organ or tissue suitable for transplantation.

"Incarcerated person", a person in the custody of the department of correction.

(b) An incarcerated person may voluntarily donate a donor gift to a recipient, of the donor’s choosing, in need of such donation. No incarcerated person shall receive monetary compensation, sentence reduction or any other incentive in exchange for making a donor gift.

(c) Donor gifts shall only be made by the free and voluntary decision of the incarcerated person. All donor gift procedures shall comply with applicable medical standards and ethics.

(d) The department of correction shall establish protocols to: (i) process requests from incarcerated persons who wish to make a donor gift; (ii) provide transportation to and from approved medical transplant centers; and (iii) maintain all existing security measures during transportation and medical procedures.

(e) The department of correction and its medical providers shall not participate in the medical aspects of the donor gift procedure, including evaluation, matching, surgery, or post-operative care. All medical aspects shall be handled exclusively by the approved medical transplant center.

(f) The approved medical transplant center shall: (i) conduct all medical evaluations, compatibility tests, and mental health assessments of the incarcerated person; (ii) determine medical eligibility for donation; (iii) provide all pre-operative, surgical and post-operative care; and (iv) develop treatment plans to ensure safe recovery for both the incarcerated person and recipient.

(g) The commissioner shall promulgate regulations to implement this section.

The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. The General Court provides this information as a public service and while we endeavor to keep the data accurate and current to the best of our ability, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.

Close