Court won't reconsider bone marrow payments ruling

A federal appeals court says it won't reconsider a ruling that allows bone marrow donors to be paid for their donations like blood donors.

In December, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned a decades-old government practice that made such compensation a crime.

The court said a technological breakthrough makes the process of donating bone marrow nearly identical to giving blood plasma.

On Tuesday, the court declined the Obama administration's request to reconsider the ruling. The administration now has 90 days to petition the U.S. Supreme Court.

Department of Justice spokesman Charles Miller says the administration is reviewing its options.

The nonprofit patient advocacy group Institute for Justice called the original ruling a "major national shift in bone marrow donation policy" and said payments will encourage more donations.