Legislature(2007 - 2008)BELTZ 211
04/03/2008 09:00 AM Senate STATE AFFAIRS
| Audio | Topic |
|---|---|
| Start | |
| SB228 | |
| HJR32 | |
| HB193 | |
| HJR19 | |
| HJR38 | |
| HB252 | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | HJR 19 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 193 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HJR 32 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HJR 38 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | HB 252 | TELECONFERENCED | |
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
| = | SB 228 | ||
HB 252-LEAVE FOR ORGAN/BONE MARROW DONATIONS
CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of HB 252. [Before the
committee was CSHB 252(STA).]
10:36:12 AM
REPRESENTATIVE GABRIELLE LEDOUX, Alaska State Legislature, said
HB 252 requires paid leave from state employment for organ and
bone marrow donations. The employer is not required to provide
more than 80 hours of leave and it may not be less than 40 hours
unless the employee asks for less. Fewer than 100 people in
Alaska are waiting for a bone marrow transplant. Matching is
rare; about 1 match in 100,000 people is typical. 30 states have
already passed this kind of law.
SENATOR STEVENS asked what the requirements are to make such a
donation and how much time it takes.
10:39:05 AM
BRUCE ZALNERAITIS, Chief Executive Officer, Life Alaska Donor
Services, Anchorage, spoke in support of HB 252. He explained
that a donor for a kidney transplant first is evaluated
medically. Next they donate blood for matching, typing and
compatibility. The process may take up to 3 months but doesn't
require time away from work. The surgery to donate the kidney
takes a few hours, the hospital recovery period is about a week,
and more recovery time may be required at home. On average two
weeks is more than enough time for most people to recover.
BERNADETTE ANTON, National Marrow Donor Program, Minneapolis,
MN, said for bone marrow donations the initial screening is done
over the phone. After that blood samples are drawn and a
physical examination is done. That takes up to a day from work
depending on location and travel times. The donation can happen
in two different ways. One is giving peripheral blood stem
cells. For that the donor receives four days of injections and
then the donation is made. The injections can make a person ill
and they may not feel like going to work. Peripheral blood stem
cell donation could take from 2 to 5 days for the actual
donation so the 40 hours is reasonable. The other method is
marrow collection. That surgical procedure takes a day in the
operating room and from 1 to 5 days recovery at home. Most
marrow donors aren't away from work for more than a week. If a
person does heavy labor they might need more time. The 80 hours
for marrow donation is very generous and probably wouldn't all
be used unless the donor had unusual complications.
10:43:04 AM
SENATOR STEVENS it is good to encourage people to become donors.
He summarized that leave time for evaluation and other
preliminary work wouldn't be necessary but there would be some
recovery time after the actual kidney donation and bone marrow
collection.
SONYA HYMER, Staff to Representative LeDoux, said the current
version of the bill would permit paid administrative leave for
the screening process.
10:44:10 AM
SENATOR STEVENS asked for an explanation of the screening
process.
MS. HYMER said there would be some testing to determine
compatibility. She deferred more technical details to the
experts.
MS. ANTON said when bone marrow donors are recruited onto the
registry the initial screening is done. That time wouldn't fall
under this bill in her view. Once the person is a potential
match for a recipient, they would be called for additional
testing at a physician's office, a lab or a donor center. It
would not take a whole day unless excessive travel time was
required. Her reading is that time would fall under the bill.
Before she neglected to mention that a donor giving marrow might
have to give a natalogist unit of blood prior to the donation
and that could take a portion of a day depending on where the
donor had to go. Then there is the actual donation procedure
that she described.
10:45:46 AM
SENATOR STEVENS said this sounds like it could be painful or
life-threatening and isn't something people would do to get time
off from work.
MS. ANTON agreed; donors are really dedicated and want to help
another individual have a better life.
SENATOR FRENCH pointed out the series of zero fiscal notes
indicating that there will be an extremely small number of
people who will take advantage of this.
SENATOR FRENCH moved to report CSHB 252(STA) from committee with
individual recommendations and attached zero fiscal note(s).
There being no objection, the bill moved from committee.
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