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H. 3830
STATUS INFORMATION
General Bill
Sponsors: Reps. Walker, Battle, J. Brown, Cato, Chellis, Coates, J. Hines, Howard, Koon, Lee, Littlejohn, Mahaffey, McGee, Moody-Lawrence, J.H. Neal, Parks, Sinclair, Talley, Townsend, Vaughn and Whitmire
Document Path: l:\council\bills\nbd\11409ac03.doc
Introduced in the House on March 20, 2003
Currently residing in the House Committee on Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs
Summary: Organ and tissue donor
HISTORY OF LEGISLATIVE ACTIONS
Date Body Action Description with journal page number
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3/20/2003 House Introduced and read first time HJ-6
3/20/2003 House Referred to Committee on Medical, Military, Public and
Municipal Affairs HJ-7
View the latest legislative information at the LPITS web site
VERSIONS OF THIS BILL
TO AMEND SECTION 44-43-40, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO DRIVERS' LICENSES INDICATING THAT A PERSON IS AN ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY SHALL GIVE SUCH A DONOR A SPECIALLY NOTED DRIVER'S LICENSE RATHER THAN AFFIXING A DECAL ON THE LICENSE; TO AMEND ARTICLE 3, CHAPTER 43, TITLE 44, RELATING TO EYE DONATION, SO AS TO DELETE PROVISIONS SPECIFIC TO DONATING EYES, WHICH ARE INCORPORATED IN OTHER PROVISIONS IN THIS ACT, AND TO APPLY TO ALL ORGAN AND TISSUE DONEES, THE PROHIBITION AGAINST CHARGING AN EYE DONEE A FEE; TO AMEND SECTION 44-43-320, RELATING TO DEFINITIONS USED IN THE UNIFORM ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT, SO AS TO CHANGE THE REFERENCE TO THE FEDERAL AGENCY THAT DESIGNATES STATE ORGAN PROCUREMENT AGENCIES; TO AMEND SECTION 44-43-350, RELATING TO PROCEDURES FOR DESIGNATION AS AN ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR, SO AS TO PROVIDE THAT A VERBAL DESIGNATION MUST BE WITNESSED BY TWO PERSONS; TO AMEND SECTION 44-43-370, RELATING TO PROCEDURES TO AMEND OR REVOKE AN ORGAN AND TISSUE DONOR DESIGNATION, SO AS TO DELETE A WRITTEN STATEMENT AMENDING OR REVOKING THE DESIGNATION AND TO PROVIDE THAT DESTRUCTION OR CANCELLATION OF THE DOCUMENT CAN AMEND OR REVOKE THE DESIGNATION; TO AMEND SECTION 44-43-400, RELATING TO STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION OF THE UNIFORM ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT, SO AS TO REQUIRE THAT IT MUST BE LIBERALLY CONSTRUED TO EFFECTUATE THE WISHES OF THE ORGAN DONOR; TO AMEND SECTIONS 44-43-410 AND 44-43-420, RELATING TO CERTAIN ORGAN DONATIONS AND RECIPROCAL AGREEMENTS FOR SHARING ORGANS WITH OTHER STATES, SO AS TO CONFORM THE REFERENCE TO THE FEDERAL AGENCY THAT DESIGNATES STATE ORGAN PROCUREMENT ORGANIZATIONS WITH THIS ACT; AND TO AMEND ARTICLE 11, CHAPTER 43, TITLE 44, RELATING TO HOSPITAL POLICIES AND PROTOCOL FOR ORGAN AND TISSUE DONATION, SO AS TO ALSO INCLUDE "TISSUE" DONATION, WHICH INCLUDES HEART VALVES, EYES, BONE, CARTILAGE, SKIN, LIGAMENTS, TENDONS, AND FASCIA, AND TO REVISE REFERENCES TO CONFORM TO CHANGES IN THIS ACT AND CURRENT PRACTICES, INCLUDING RECOGNITION OF HOSPITAL TISSUE BANKS.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 44-43-40 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-40. Donations and gifts of all or part of a person's body made at the time of application, issuance, reissuance, or renewal of a driver's license pursuant to this chapter must be noted on the person's driver's license. After a driver's license has been issued, reissued, or renewed, the department shall issue to each person who has notified it the department that he is a donor under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act a suitable decal to be affixed to the driver's license of the person special driver's license indicating his status as a donor. The notation does not constitute execution of a gift under the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. The department is not the registry of anatomical gifts."
SECTION 2. Article 3, Chapter 43, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 44-43-110. Any person desiring to donate and give his eyes for eyesight-restoration purposes may do so by a written instrument declaring such gift or may, by his last will and testament or codicil thereto, bequeath his eyes for such purposes, and any such provision in any last will and testament or codicil shall become effective immediately upon death of the testator.
No particular form or words shall be necessary or required, but any such written statement or last will and testament or codicil shall be liberally construed to effectuate the intent and purpose of the person wishing to donate or bequeath his eyes for eyesight-restoration purposes.
Section 44-43-140. A person donating or bequeathing his eyes for eyesight-restoration purposes may designate the donee. If no donee is named by the donor in the written instrument or last will and testament, or if the eyes are not suitable for use by the designated donee, the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc., may decide the best use of the eyes. The South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc., must request removal of the eyes, and the eyes must be removed by a certified technician, physician, nurse, licensed embalmer, or an appropriate person trained and certified by the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc., through a course taught by the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc. The eyes, when removed, must be processed and distributed as directed by the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc.
Section 44-43-160. No A charge, fee, or cost may not be assessed against a donee for eyes to be used for eyesight-restoration purposes organs or tissue; however, nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit the payment of a reasonable processing fee to the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc., an organ or tissue recovery organization or a fee to any a physician or surgeon for performing an operation whereby the donee of the eyes has his eyesight restored."
SECTION 3. Section 44-43-320 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-320. (a) As used in this article:
(1) 'Bank or storage facility' means a facility licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of any state for storage of human bodies or parts thereof of human bodies.
(b)(2) 'Decedent' means a deceased individual and includes a stillborn infant or fetus.
(c)(3) 'Donor' means an individual who makes a gift of all or part of his body.
(d)(4) 'Hospital' means a hospital licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of any state and includes a hospital operated by the United States Government, a state, or a subdivision thereof of either, although not required to be licensed under state laws.
(e)(5) 'Part' includes organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids, and other portions of a human body, and 'part' includes 'parts'.
(f)(6) 'Person' means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or, association, or any other legal entity.
(g)(7) 'Physician' or 'surgeon' means a physician or surgeon licensed or authorized to practice under the laws of any state.
(h)(8) 'State' includes any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession, and any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States of America.
(i)(9) 'Organ procurement organization' means the agency or organization designated by the Health Care Financing Administration United States Department of Health and Human Services as the organ procurement agency for the state."
SECTION 4. Section 44-43-350(e), (f), and (g) of the 1976 Code are amended to read:
"(e) Any A gift by a person designated in Section 44-43-330(b) shall must be made by:
(i) a document signed by him, or a verbal designation witnessed by at least two people; or
(ii) made by his telegraphic, or recorded telephonic or other recorded message.
(f) If an organ and tissue donor card, donor driver's license, living will, durable power of attorney, or other document of gift evidencing a gift of organs, or tissue, or eyes, or any combination of these has been executed, the consent required pursuant to Section 44-43-330 is not required to render the gift valid and effective.
(g) Coroners, law enforcement officers, and emergency personnel responding to the scene of an accident or trauma shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the driver's license, organ and tissue donor card, or other evidence that the individual is an organ, or tissue, or eye donor and a medical alert bracelet, if any, of the individuals involved in the accident or trauma, accompany the individuals to the hospital or other health care facility."
SECTION 5. Section 44-43-370 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-370. (a)(A) If the a will, card, or other document or executed copy thereof, of one of these has been delivered to a specified donee, the donor may amend or revoke the gift by:
(1) the execution and delivery to the donee of a signed statement, or;
(2) an oral statement made in the presence of two persons and communicated to the donee,; or
(3) a statement during a terminal illness or injury addressed to an attending physician and communicated to the donee, or;
(4) A signed card or document found on his person or in his effects the destruction, cancellation, or mutilation of the document and all executed copies of the document.
(b) Any document of gift which has not been delivered to the donee may be revoked by the donor in the manner set out in subsection (a) or by destruction, cancellation, or mutilation of the document and all executed copies thereof.
(c)(B) Any A gift made by a will also may also be amended or revoked in the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills, or as provided in subsection (a) (A)."
SECTION 6. Section 44-43-400 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-400. This article shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which enact it must be liberally construed to effectuate the wishes of the organ donor."
SECTION 7. Section 44-43-410 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-410. If an anatomical gift is made in this State of an organ for transplantation purposes for which the donor does not name a specific donee, and if the organ is deemed suitable for transplantation to an individual, the organ must be donated to the organ procurement organization designated by the Health Care Financing Administration United States Department of Health and Human Services as the organ procurement agency for the State. The organ procurement organization shall use its best efforts to determine if there is a suitable recipient in the State."
SECTION 8. Section 44-43-420 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"Section 44-43-420. (A) The organ procurement organization may enter into reciprocal agreements for the sharing of organs with qualified organ procurement organizations in other states that the organ procurement organization considers advisable, necessary, or expedient. However, before the organ procurement organization enters into a reciprocal agreement, the proposed agreement must be approved by the United Network for Organ Sharing or its successor as determined by the United States Department of Health and Human Services or the Health Care Financing Administration Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network under contract to the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(B) Except as may otherwise be provided for by an agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (A), the organ procurement organization may only transfer an organ to an out-of-state organ procurement organization or suitable out-of-state recipient for transplantation only if a suitable recipient in this State cannot be found in a reasonable amount of time."
SECTION 9. Article 11, Chapter 43, Title 44 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
Section 44-43-910. As used in this article:
(1) 'Brain death' means irreversible cessation of all functions of the brain, including the brain stem, as determined in accordance with accepted medical standards.
(2) 'Hospital' means a hospital licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of this State and includes a hospital operated by the United States or the State or its subdivisions, although not required to be licensed under state law.
(3) 'Potential organ or tissue donor' means a person who has died or is dying in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable medical belief that the person will meet the medical criteria for donation of at least one organ including, but not limited to, the heart, lung, liver, pancreas, and kidneys or any tissue including, but not limited to, heart valves, eyes, bone, cartilage, skin, ligaments, tendons, and fascia.
(4) 'Potential tissue donor' means a person who has died or is dying in circumstances that give rise to a reasonable medical belief that the person will meet the medical criteria for donation of at least one type of tissue including, but not limited to, heart valves, eyes, bone, cartilage, skin, ligaments, tendons, and fascia.
(5) 'South Carolina Donor Referral Network' or the 'Donor Referral Network' includes, but is not limited to, the South Carolina Organ Procurement Agency, Inc., American Red Cross Southeastern Tissue Services, and the South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc. 'Organ procurement organization' means the agency or organization designated to perform organ recovery services in its geographical area by the United States Department of Health and Human Services.
(5) 'Donor Referral Network' means a collaborative effort of the donor recovery agencies in South Carolina that work together to provide a means for hospitals to have a twenty-four-hour referral service for all deaths that occur in a hospital.
Section 44-43-920. A hospital, with the assistance of the South Carolina Donor Referral Network, shall establish policies on organ and tissue donation and related continuing education programs. The hospital shall provide for the appropriate organ, tissue, and eye procurement agencies to be responsible for the program related to their agency A hospital shall establish policies on organ and tissue donation in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations and related continuing education.
Section 44-43-930. When there is a potential organ, tissue, or eye donor or any potential combination of these donations, the designated hospital staff shall notify the South Carolina Donor Referral Network to determine the medical suitability of these donations. The Donor Referral Network, in conjunction with the South Carolina Hospital Association, may develop criteria under which a hospital is not required to notify the procurement agencies When a death has occurred or is imminent, the hospital shall notify the Donor Referral Network under policies established in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The organ procurement organization shall notify the hospital's designated tissue recovery organization regarding its potential tissue donors.
Section 44-43-940. All appropriate hospital administration and staff and the South Carolina Donor Referral Network must be involved in a cooperative effort and work collaboratively with their designated organ procurement organization and tissue bank to support and promote the option of organ, tissue, and eye donation process.
Section 44-43-945. (A) If upon referral of a potential organ, or tissue, eye donation, or any combination of these, donor the South Carolina Donor Referral Network organ procurement organization or the hospital's designated tissue bank determines that the donation is not appropriate based on established medical criteria, this determination must be noted by hospital personnel on the patient's record. Within two hours of this determination or within two hours of a patient's death and the deceased patient's next-of-kin designating a funeral director, the hospital shall notify the funeral director of this designation and when the body of the deceased will be made available to the funeral director. If the Donor Referral Network organ procurement organization or hospital's designated tissue bank determines that the patient is a suitable candidate for organ, or tissue, or eye donation, or a combination of these, a representative of the Donor Referral Network or a person designated by the Donor Referral Network must the organ procurement organization or the hospitals designated tissue bank shall contact the appropriate person authorized to consent to the donation pursuant to Section 44-43-330 to ascertain if the deceased was is an organ, or tissue, or eye donor and if not, to inform the person about and the procedures for organ, or tissue, and eye donation.
(B) Discretion and sensitivity to family circumstances and religious beliefs must be used in all contacts with family members regarding organ, or tissue, and eye donation.
Section 44-43-950. As provided in Section 44-43-330, persons in the stated order of priority may give consent for organ, or tissue, or eye donation, or any combination of these donations.
Section 44-43-960. If a death is under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner, as provided in Section 17-5-530, written or verbal permission must be obtained by the organ procurement agency or a tissue bank from the coroner or medical examiner before organ, or tissue, or eye recovery. A coroner or medical examiner must refer to the South Carolina Donor Referral Network as a potential donor a person whose death occurs outside of a hospital.
Section 44-43-970. (A) The South Carolina Organ Procurement Agency, Inc., within the territory designated pursuant to federal law, is the exclusive agency to receive potential organ donor referrals and organ donations so long as this entity remains and is certified by the Health Care Financing Administration and abides by the regulations of the Organ Procurement Transplantation Network and the United Network for Organ Sharing or its successor.
(B) The American Red Cross Southeastern Tissue Services, within the territory designated pursuant to federal law to the South Carolina Organ Procurement Agency or its successor, is the exclusive agency to receive potential tissue donor referrals and tissue donations, except eye donations, so long as this entity remains a member in good standing and is certified by and abides by the regulations of the American Association of Tissue Banks.
(C) The South Carolina Lions Eye Bank, Inc., within the territory designated pursuant to federal law to the South Carolina Organ Procurement Agency or its successor is the exclusive agency to receive potential eye donor referrals and eye donations so long as this entity remains a member in good standing and is certified by and abides by the regulations of the Eye Bank Association of America.
(D) This section does not prevent donations pursuant to Section 44-43-340.
Section 44-43-980. The South Carolina Donor Referral Network shall maintain coordinators on call twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, to determine the eligibility of a potential donor and to coordinate the donor process.
Section 44-43-985. Neither the South Carolina Donor Referral Network nor an agency in the Donor Referral Network The organ procurement organization may not assess a charge, fee, or cost against another procurement agency for referral of an organ, or tissue, or eye donor, or any donor, of a combination of these. However, reasonable charges for related services pursuant to contractual relationships are permissible.
Section 44-43-1000. The following must be documented in the medical records of patients identified as potential organ, or tissue, or eye donors:
(1) why a family is not contacted to request organ, or tissue, or eye donation;
(2) when a family is contacted to request organ, or tissue, or eye donation and the outcome of the contact;
(3) disposition of a referral to a procurement agency including acceptance or rejection by the agency. The appropriate procurement agency shall notify the referring hospital of the disposition.;
(4) other documentation as may be required by federal or state law or regulation.
Section 44-43-1010. All hospital and physician charges following declaration of brain death that pertain to organ and tissue donation must be paid by the appropriate procurement agency in the Donor Referral Network and must not be charged to the donor's estate. Procurement costs incurred by the agency must not be charged to the donor's estate.
Section 44-43-1015. The South Carolina Donor Referral Network shall conduct death record reviews pursuant to agreements entered into by hospitals and the Donor Referral Network to ascertain hospital compliance with this article Each hospital must work collaboratively with its designated organ procurement organization and tissue bank in conducting periodic death record reviews in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations."
SECTION 10. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
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