Mayo man's campaigns see landmark sepsis legislation launched in US Congress

Ciaran Staunton, a native of Louisburgh and his wife Orlaith, co-founders of the End Sepsis advocacy group, were in Washington DC this week as members of Congress formally introduced the SEPSIS Act in the House of Representatives. The proposed legislation aims to strengthen how sepsis is prevented, recognised and treated across the US healthcare system.

The bill was introduced jointly by Congressman Tom Kean Jr. (Republican, New Jersey) and Congressman Donald Norcross (Democrat, New Jersey), himself a sepsis survivor. It is the House companion to Senate Bill S.1929, which was recently introduced by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Susan Collins (R-ME).

Rory’s Regulations
Staunton’s advocacy stems from personal tragedy. His teenage son Rory died from undiagnosed sepsis in New York in 2012, an experience that transformed the Mayo man into one of the most prominent sepsis campaigners in the United States. Since then, he has worked tirelessly to push for policy change, public awareness and hospital protocols to ensure earlier diagnosis and treatment.

READ MORE: ‘The hardest part is most sepsis deaths are preventable’ - Mayo man seeks to change law in United States of America 

In 2012, Ciarán and his wife Orlaith lost their son Rory to sepsis. They turned their grief into action, founding the Rory Staunton Foundation for Sepsis Prevention.

“Our campaign is to rule out sepsis. Sepsis is not hard to detect if the person in the hospital is looking for it.
"What happened to us shouldn't be inflicted on anyone and no parents should have to go out and buy a coffin for their child, for any loved one.”

"Rory spent his summers in Westport and Louisburgh every year and people would know him around town.

“After our son Rory died in New York, we got Rory's Regulations passed in New York State. It is a set of regulations that all hospitals must rule out sepsis when the patient arrives at the hospital. In the first four years of all these regulations in New York it saved over 20,000 New Yorkers in New York State.”

Speaking previously to The Mayo News, Staunton has said that “the hardest part is knowing that most sepsis deaths are preventable,” a belief that underpins his drive to change the law. He has repeatedly highlighted that delays in recognising sepsis — often mistaken for flu or other common infections — can be fatal.

Sepsis is the body’s extreme and overwhelming response to infection and can progress rapidly to organ failure and death if not treated quickly. An estimated 1.7 million people in the United States develop sepsis every year, with hundreds of thousands dying as a result.

Congressman Norcross knows the danger firsthand. In April 2025, he was hospitalised with a gallbladder infection that escalated into sepsis. His recovery, supporters of the bill say, demonstrates the difference early recognition and timely treatment can make.

At the bill’s launch, Congressman Kean said sepsis “can impact anyone – young or old, sick or healthy – and preventing deaths depends on early recognition and timely intervention.”

The SEPSIS Act now moves into the legislative process, where advocates say public pressure will be crucial. Staunton and the End Sepsis team are urging survivors, families, clinicians and supporters to contact their elected representatives and press for the bill’s passage.