HB 994 -- Organ Donations

Sponsor:  Graham (24)

This bill makes several changes to the Anatomical Gift Act.  The
bill:

(1)  Adds the definitions for acute care general hospitals;
anatomical donations; federally certified organ procurement
organizations; organ donor program fund and recovery specialist;

(2)  Allows persons who are 16 years of age to effect anatomical
gifts with parental or guardian consent and specifies additional
requirements for whole body donations;

(3)  Allows licensed hospitals to verify after a patient's
admittance, if possible, evidence pertaining to an anatomical
gift and specifies procedures for the verification;

(4)  Allows an attending physician or hospital designee to
contact an organ procurement organization in Missouri to
determine the suitability or non-suitability of an organ,
tissue, or eye donation of a 75 year old or younger patient who
was near death or who dies while an inpatient at an acute care
hospital and specifies the procedures for the determination;

(5)  Allows an acute care general hospital to develop and
implement a protocol for referring potential anatomical donors;

(6)  Establishes procedures for conducting death medical record
reviews on an annual basis for the purpose of determining the
anatomical donor potential at acute care general hospitals;

(7)  Allows a recovery specialist to perform appropriate
procedures for anatomical gifts at the donor's request;

(8)  Allows the Division of Motor Vehicles and Driver's License
to modify the driver's license and identification card
application process and renewal system for the purposes of
obtaining information on anatomical donations from persons over
18 years of age and allowing persons under 18 years of age to
register as donors with parental consent and further permits
organ procurement organizations in Missouri to have 24 hour
access to the donor information, beginning January 1, 2000;

(9)  Specifies the procedures which allow the Department of
Revenue to provide applicants for vehicle renewal registrations
an opportunity to contribute $1 to the Organ Donor Program Fund
and specifies the use of such funds;

(10)  Specifies procedures which allow the Department of Revenue
to provide space on the face of the individual income tax return
form for persons voluntarily contributing to the Organ Donor
Program Fund, effective for tax year 2000 and thereafter;

(11)  Specifies persons who can conduct reasonable,
administrative, and physical searches in order to verify the
approval or non-approval of an organ donation and for notifying
the next-of-kin of an accident trauma victim;

(12)  Specifies regulations for the administration and use of
the Organ Donor Program Fund;

(13)  Establishes an Organ Tissue and Donor Awareness Board and
specifies the duties and the composition of the members and
eliminates the Organ Donation Advisory Committee; and

(14)  Allows the Director of Revenue to specify the rules and
procedures for allowing an applicant to designate an anatomical
gift on the back of a non-drivers license.