Running head: LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL
Legislative Session Assignment:
SB 391- First Person Consent Donor Registry
Tracy Hill
Washburn University
NU 508
Healthcare Policy, Finance, and Organization
January 26, 2010
1

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL 2
Legislative Hearing: SB 391- First Person Consent Donor Registry.
Senate Bill No. 391 was first introduced on January 19, 2010, referred to the Health and
Welfare committee on January 20, 2010, and on January 26 th
, the bill was discussed and passed during the Committee on Public Health and Welfare legislative hearing. SB 391 is an act concerning anatomical gifts, relating to first person donor registry and amends two statutes in the
Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act: K.S.A. 65-3239 section 2 and K.S.A. Supp 65-3225 ( SB
391 , 2010). SB 391 clarifies full legal consent by the person on the registry at the time of death and establishes a statewide organ and tissue donor registry accessible to in-state recognized cadaveric organ and tissue agencies for the recovery or placement of organs and tissue and to procurement agencies in another state when a Kansas resident is a donor of an anatomical gift and is not located in Kansas at the time of death or imminent death. SB 391 amends current legislation, and adds “An individual who agrees to have such individual’s name in the first person consent organ and tissue donor registry has given full legal consent to the donation of any of such individual’s organs or tissues upon such individual’s death as recorded in the registry”
( SB 391 , 2010).
Two individuals spoke before the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee as proponents of the bill. The first speaker was Rob Linderer, CEO of the Midwest Transplant
Network (MTN). The MTN is a non-profit, federally certified organ procurement organization
(OPO) designated to serve the state of Kansas and 63 counties in western Missouri. The MTN is also responsible for operating the existing state donor registry. Mr. Linderer’s testimony in support of SB 391, stated the bill would strengthen and clarify the provisions of the Kansas
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act that allows an individual to make a decision to donate anatomical gifts prior to their death. Currently, an individual agrees to be a donor through the DMV and has

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL 3 a “symbol” placed on their license, signs the back of their license, a donor card, will or other document. Mr. Linderer stated that it is currently necessary that those documents be readily available at the time of death, which rarely occurs, and gives the next of kin the decision making ability, sometimes overturning the donor’s “intent” to donate (
MTN Testimony supporting SB
391 , 2010).
Mr. Linderer stated that SB 391 would clarify the donor’s intent to donate, and that by entering your name in the Kansas State Donor Registry, you are giving first person “consent” for donation consistent with the provisions of the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act. Mr. Linderer clarified that individuals will continue to register through the DMV when obtaining or renewing their driver’s license, or by directly accessing the Kansas Donor Registry website. SB 391 requires a web accessible donor registry computer software application that will be deployed by
The MTN. This registry application in currently developed and successful in the state of
Missouri with the support of a federal grant and is available to the MTN and will be deployed and operated as the Kansas Donor Registry. This application gives Kansas the ability to authorize an anatomical gift that cannot be revoked by others after their death, and allows individuals to indicate any limitations to the gift and provides a means to revoke a gift should they decide to do so. Other key points in support of SB 391 were made by Mr. Linderer. Some of the key points included that Kansas was the first state to pass the Uniform Anatomical Gift Act in 1968, that new technology will ensure that the information will be readily accessible to be acted upon at the time of a donor’s death, and that donor-designated first person consent registries have been successfully implemented in approximately 42 states. Finally, Mr. Linderer testified that the passage of SB 391 would improve the ability to honor a donor’s wish and help end deaths of those on transplant wait lists in Kansas and across the U.S. Mr. Linderer answered

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL 4 questions from several senators on the committee, mostly clarifying what he stated in his testimony, and asking about the security of the website, which was reported to be password secure. Children and those under 18 years old were discussed; clarifying decisions are made for them by their next of kin, as they currently are. It was also clarified that people can continue to register by paper format if they desire.
The second speaker in favor of SB 391 was Ronald Hein, legislative counsel for MTN.
He appeared on behalf of MTN to support SB 391, but also with a strong personal interest in the issue of organ donation. Mr. Hein received a kidney transplant from his wife in 1996 after he suffered kidney failure from end-stage renal disease (ESRD) caused by Type I Diabetes, which is the leading cause of kidney failure. He stated how fortunate he was to have a live donor will to donate their kidney, but that many victims of ESRD are required to be on dialysis for extended periods of time until a cadaver donor is available. Due to immunosuppressant drugs damaging his other kidney and the donated kidney, Mr. Hein required a second transplant, was placed on the organ donation list and in 2007 received both a kidney and pancreas transplant from a cadaver donor. Mr. Hein credits organ and tissue donation programs like the one in SB 391 for his successful organ transplant, noting that he is no longer diabetic or in kidney failure. He closed by adding that approximately 1,000 Kansans are waiting for an organ to be donated either by a live donor or cadaver donor, more than 83,000 people nationwide are awaiting transplants, and on average, 17 people die per day due to lack of available organs from transplant( SB 391:
Ron Hein testimony , 2010). Mr. Hein fielded questions from senators about organ transplant waiting lists and prioritization of those lists, noting that waiting lists are shorter in the Midwest than other parts of the country. Both Mr. Linderer and Mr. Hein reiterated to the Senate Public
Health and Welfare Committee that there was no fiscal effect on the state general fund associated

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL 5 with the passing of SB 391. Senator Jim Barnett, Committee Chair, reiterated that point prior to the Senators voting on the bill.
No individuals or groups spoke in opposition to SB 391. All questions asked by Senators on the committee were points of clarification, none in opposition to the bill. Mr. Linderer and
Mr. Hein completed their testimonies and the committee chair, Senator Barnett, asked for other testimonies, and there were none. Next, proper legislature procedures for passing a bill were followed; a motion was raised to pass the bill, seconded and voted on. All members of the
Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee voted to pass SB 391. The bill takes effect upon publication in the statute book.
Overall thoughts and impressions of the legislative experience and the Senate hearing are positive. It appeared that the meeting to pass SB 391 was just a formality, since there were no objections or oppositions to the bill in question. The hearing was very formal in the way everyone was addressed. Guests were introduced, including a group on CRNA students from
The University of Kansas. It should be noted that those who wish to speak at legislative hearings are required to give twenty-four to forty-eight hours notice in order to be allowed to provide testimony, and are to provide written testimony as well. First person donor registry is a topic of great interest to this author. As a “Designated Requestor” with the MTN, it is a great responsibility to approach family members when death of a family member occurs or death is imminent. Working in an emergency department setting, death often occurs as a result of tragedy and is unexpected. Even when death is imminent, organ and tissue donation is a difficult subject to discuss when someone is dealing with the loss of a loved one. Having previously chosen to “donate life” and consent to be an organ and tissue donor, patients intend to remove the burden for family members. Those who choose to donate their organs and tissues after death

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL are choosing life for up to fifty other individuals. With the amendments to the Kansas Uniform
Anatomical Gift Act in SB 391, the first person registry would provide a more effective mechanism for donors to have their desires concerning the donation of organs registered and recognized.
6

LEGISLATIVE HEARING: SB 391- CONCERNING ANATOMICAL
References
SB 391: First Person Consent Donor Registry , Kansas Senate Legislative Hearing January 26th
Cong., 1 (2010) (testimony of Ronald R. Hein).
SB 391: First Person Consent Donor Registry , Kansas Senate Legislative Hearing: January 26th
Cong., 1 (2010).
SB 391: First Person Consent Donor Registry: Testimony of the Midwest Transplant Network ,
Kansas Senate Legislative Hearing January 26th Cong., 1 (2010) (testimony of Rob
Linderer).
7