LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Approximately 700 people are currently waiting for a kidney in Kentucky. One lawmaker is hoping a new bill will help that number go down.

Louisville Republican Jerry Miller pre-filed a bill that would promote live organ donation. It would provide state employees paid time off while other Kentuckians would receive a tax incentive for donating an organ.

Under the legislation, state employees would receive 240 hours paid time off for major surgery, such as a kidney donation, and 40 hours paid time off for a bone marrow transplant. Other Kentuckians would receive up to a $10,000 tax deduction for live organ donation.

“Donate Life recently did a study and found that 97 percent of Kentuckians have a positive view of organ donations. Compare that to the fact that only 59 percent are actually registered, and you immediately recognize that the will is there to provide more help to those in need. If we can remove barriers to life-saving medical procedures by taking some simple steps, then let’s do it. Let’s save Kentucky lives,” Miller said.

It takes about six weeks to recover from a kidney transplant surgery. Doctors say while they don’t have concrete proof that recovery time people from donating kidneys they say after possible donors learn of the process some decide against going through with the donation.

“It’s such a vital resource for the commonwealth that we have protections for the donors,” said Dr. Dylan Adamson, a physician at the University of Louisville. “We need to continue to protect those that put themselves on the line. Living donation is really the only operation we do in American Medicine on somebody who has nothing wrong with them, it’s important to keep in mind they are putting themselves on the line.”

Miller was encouraged to file the legislation by Louisville resident Beth Burbridge who donated a kidney to a neighbor, and realized after her donation  employers were not required to give paid time off to donors.

“Through this bill, we have high hopes that state employees won’t have to go through the same stress that I went through, and that all those considering living organ donations, they’re going to see that Kentucky is there to support them,” Burbridge said.

The most common type of live organ donation is liver and kidney transplants.

The pre-filed bill can be found here.