New Law Seeks to Increase Organ Donation; HANYS/HTNYS Continue Effort to Boost Donations

Governor David Paterson has signed into law a bill (A.904-A/S.3910) that sets an order of priority for who makes decisions about organ donation when someone has died. The bill amends the Anatomical Gift Act to allow a broader list of people to make donation decisions for individuals who have, in advance, authorized such decision making. The bill responds to situations where family members oppose organ donation even though the deceased person wanted to be an organ donor. That situation is common when relatives or partners are in grief over the loss of their loved one. Given the shortage of organ donors in New York, the bill seeks to increase the availability of organs for transplant by adding three new categories of people who can make donation decisions: someone who is a designated health care proxy, someone who has been chosen as a disposition-of-remains agent, or a domestic partner. The bill then establishes an order of priority for who determines organ donation.

HANYS and Healthcare Trustees of New York State (HTNYS) are collaborating on a new initiative to encourage members to promote organ donation awareness within their facilities and communities. HANYS and HTNYS are working with the New York State Alliance for Donation to provide hospitals, health systems, and continuing care systems across the state with brochures and posters that contain educational information about organ donation. The goal is to increase organ donation awareness across the state over the next several years and engage health care provider employees and members of the community in the process. Contact: Sue Ellen Wagner