Inmates in Massachusetts prisons may soon be able to have their sentences reduced in exchange for organ or bone marrow donation if a law is eventually passed in the US state.

A new bill to create an organ donation program in the state’s penitentiary system has been proposed by two state legislators, both Democrats.

If passed, “the program would allow prisoners to receive a reprieve from imprisonment of no less than 60 and no more than 365 days.” Along with the new program, a five-member committee will be set up to oversee the program. The commission will also decide on eligibility standards for prisoners interested in the program and “the amount of bone marrow and organs donated to receive compensation.”

Currently, the US Federal Bureau of Prisons only allows inmate organ donation if the recipient is a member of their immediate family, but many state prisons, including Massachusetts, do not have provisions for organ or bone marrow donation.

It is worth noting that no state with the death penalty allows organ donation from executed prisoners, even if they were registered as organ donors.

There are currently 104,413 people on the waiting list for organ transplants in the United States, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing.

Source: Guardian