NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A4990B
SPONSOR: Ortiz (MS) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the public health law and the vehicle and traffic law,
in relation to authorizing persons 16 years of age or older to make an
anatomical gift
PURPOSE:
To allow New Yorkers age 16 or older who wish to consent to donate the
ability to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry, while
preserving the parent's ability to give final authorization should the
under aged individual be considered for organ, eye or tissue donation.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subdivision 1 of section 4301 of the public
health law, as amended by chapter 348 of the laws of 2009, to allow
individuals who are sixteen or seventeen years old to register their
consent to donate their organs, eyes, and tissue in the NYS Donate Life
Registry. This section also authorizes a potential donor's parents or
legal guardian to rescind the donor's authorization for donation at the
time of death if it were to occur before the potential donor turned
eighteen.
Section 2 of the bill amends subdivision 5 of section 4310 of the law,
which directs the department to create a means by which sixteen and
seventeen year olds can register their consent to donate their organs,
eyes, and tissue in the NYS Donate Life Registry, and to make that means
available to the department of motor vehicles, the board of elections,
online, and by a contractor administering the NYS Donate Life Registry.
Sections 3 and 4 make conforming changes to sections 490 and 502 of the
vehicle and traffic law to allow for those 16 and above to register
their consent to donate.
Section 5 of the bill provides the effective date
JUSTIFICATION:
Deciding to become an organ and tissue donor is a charitable and gener-
ous decision many young adults would like to make. However, New York is
one of only five states in the nation that requires an individual be 18
or older to enroll in an organ and tissue donor registry. This leaves
young people without a mechanism to document their consent to donate and
puts parents in the difficult situation of having to assume what their
teenage child would have wanted should a tragedy occur. This legislation
will allow New Yorkers aged 16 or older who wish to consent to donation
the ability to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry. Howev-
er, in the event that the young person may be considered for organ, eye
or tissue donation, the parents of that individual will be notified and
given the final authorization for donation to take place.
With this change in policy, New York will address an important proce-
dural barrier to enrollments in the New York State Donate Life Registry.
Most individuals go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to apply
for their Junior Driver license when they are 16. However, DMV automat-
ic renewal process does not provide an opportunity to ask these drivers
to complete the organ and tissue donation section on their license
applications until they are in their late twenties. Currently, 47 states
have either no restriction on the minimum age for an organ and tissue
donor registration or allow for enrollment at an age younger than 18.
This legislation will allow New York to join these states in granting 16
and 17 year olds the opportunity to express their consent to donate.
New York is in the midst of a public health crisis where the need for
organs for transplant far exceeds the supply. The state must do a better
job of promoting the New York State Donate Life Registry and raise it
out of 51st ranking among the 52 existing registries. While the state
has taken steps to increase donations, including allowing sign up
through the driver license process, more than 10,000 New Yorkers are on
the national transplant waiting list and in our state one person dies
every 15 hours because an organ did not become available to save their
life. Amazingly, one single organ donor can save the lives of 8 people
and a tissue donor can improve 50 lives by restoring eyesight, treating
burn patients and preventing the loss of mobility and disability.
This legislation will ensure that New York is doing all it can to
provide individuals with the opportunity to save lives by enrolling in
the New York State Donate Life Registry.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2015: A4990-A Reported; referred to Rules
2014: A9203-A Died in Codes
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 180th day after enactment provided
that the amendments to the public health and vehicle and traffic law
shall not affect the expiration of the existing sections and shall
expire therewith.
