Thursday, August 03, 2000
Two plans on organs competing
Donors' OKs often ignored
By Tim Bonfield
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS — Several organ collection agencies gathered at the statehouse Wednesday to urge lawmakers to put more meaning into the organ donor stickers that many Ohio residents have on their drivers' licenses.
But deciding how to go about it remains a matter of considerable debate. Lawmakers hope to blend parts of two competing proposals into a compromise bill that could be ready for a vote as soon as September but possibly delayed until after the November elections.
“Our intention is to do something this session,” said Rep. Kirk Schuring, R-Canton, who is leading House subcommittee hearings on the organ donation issue.
About 40 percent of the estimated 3 million Ohio drivers who renewed or got new permits last year agreed to carry organ donor symbols on their licenses. However, regardless of the sticker, Ohio law requires family survivor consent to collect organs from a dead person.
As a result, some organs from willing donors never get collected. Last year in Greater Cincinnati, family objections prevented donations from five people with organ donor stickers on their licenses, according to the LifeCenter, the agency that manages local organ collections.
Five people adds up to about 12 percent of the 41 total donors last year. Assuming an average of three organs collected per donor, those five people could have saved 15 lives.
Both proposals, House Bill 658 and House Bill 683, would establish that a valid declaration of a donor's wishes would take precedence over family objections. However, they disagree over plans to create a statewide organ donor registry that hospitals and organ agencies could use to double-check a person's intent.
House Bill 658, supported by hospital and organ collection groups, would allow the state to contract with a private agency to run a 24-hour registry.
House Bill 683, supported by the American Red Cross of Ohio and several tissue and eye bank services, would delay the creation of a registry until more details could be studied. It also would give eye and tissue banks more say in the collection process.
In Tennessee, with a registry in use, organ donations grew 11 percent in 1999 over 1998 and grew 23 percent in 2000 over 1999, Mr. Cochran said.
However, several organizations questioned whether a private donor registry would create conflicts of interest among competing organ and tissue banks.
Some also wondered whether trying to collect organs against family wishes would make people less willing to become donors.
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