LOPA Chief Legal Officer Bailey Morse told the joint Senate and House Health and Welfare Committee on Oct. 13 that the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA) has expanded services statewide and that donors and donor families remain central to the agency’s mission.

"At present, more than a 100,000 Americans are on the national transplant waiting list," Morse said. "Every day, 13 of our fellow Americans die before their second chance at life is realized." She said LOPA serves the entire state with nearly 300 employees and that the organization has risen to a tier-1 ranking on CMS benchmark metrics after recent performance improvements.

The presentation summarized LOPA’s clinical, legal and ethical framework for referral, recovery and allocation and described outreach priorities including hospital partnerships, pro-donation legislation and education in underserved communities. Morse highlighted local work such as seed funding LOPA provided to a young author, Naomi DeBerry, whose children’s book My Daddy Needs a Gift was published in 2024 and used in outreach efforts.

Why it matters: Organ procurement organizations coordinate with hospitals, clinicians, law enforcement and families to turn donor consent into transplants; state policy and legislative support can affect outreach, funding and the legal framework in which those organizations operate. Committee members thanked Morse and several lawmakers offered personal endorsements of organ donation, saying they would discuss potential legislative support outside the meeting.

Supporting details: Morse said national organ procurement organizations helped facilitate a record number of transplants in 2024 and repeated the national and Louisiana-level waiting-list figures she quoted to the committee. Committee members praised LOPA’s progress; one lawmaker recounted a family transplant experience to explain why the work matters personally. Morse said LOPA will continue to prioritize hospital and community partnerships, advocacy for pro-donation policy, and outreach and education.

The committee did not take formal action on legislation during the Covington visit. Several members said they would talk with LOPA staff later about possible ways the legislature could assist recruitment, outreach or funding.

Looking ahead: LOPA asked the committee to continue to consider how state policy and funding can support organ donation education and hospital partnerships. Committee members said they would follow up with LOPA representatives outside the public meeting to discuss potential support.