Legislature(1993 - 1994)

03/30/1994 09:07 AM Senate STA

Audio Topic
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
= bill was previously heard/scheduled
txt
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN brings up HB 323 (RELEASE OF CERTAIN DEATH CERT.               
 INFO) as the next item before the Senate State Affairs Committee.             
 The chairman calls the prime sponsor to testify.                              
                                                                               
 Number 027                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE CYNTHIA TOOHEY, prime sponsor of HB 323, reads the             
 sponsor statement for the bill.                                               
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY states tissue donation to improve the quality           
 of another's life is a consolation for those who have lost loved              
 ones.                                                                         
                                                                               
 TAPE 94-22, SIDE A                                                            
 Number 001                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY states HB 323 would allow tissue and organ              
 donation facilities to obtain the pertinent information from the              
 Department of Health & Social Services within the required time               
 frame, allowing for successful donation.  Representative Toohey               
 reviews the process by which donation will occur.                             
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY states the Alaska Medical Association, the              
 Department of Health & Social Services, and the court systems are             
 strongly supportive of this legislation.  HB 323 has two zero                 
 fiscal notes, and passage in the House of Representatives was                 
 unanimous.  Representative Toohey introduces Mr. Saakvitne and Mr.            
 Johnson.                                                                      
                                                                               
                                                                               
 Number 033                                                                    
                                                                               
 JENS SAAKVITNE, Director of Life Alaska, states that Life Alaska is           
 a non-profit tissue procurement agency based in Alaska and serving            
 Alaskans.  Mr. Saakvitne states that Alaska had 13 organ donors in            
 1993.  During that same time period, Alaska had a total of 87                 
 tissue donors.  Those 87 tissue donors supplied tissue for 223                
 transplants for Alaskans.  There were approximately an additional             
 1,000 transplants that took place outside the State of Alaska.  All           
 tissue that is donated through Life Alaska is offered first to                
 Alaskans, before being released outside the state.                            
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE states there have been eighteen donors so far in                
 1994.  He says even when a donor card exists, Life Alaska would               
 support the wish of the family, if the family did not want to make            
 a donation.  During a recent three day weekend when there was one             
 donation made, there were an seven additional deaths of young                 
 persons that Life Alaska never learned about until it was too late            
 for a donation to be made.   So the intent of HB 323 is to create             
 fuller, and in some cases, more rapid communication between the               
 coroner's office and Life Alaska.                                             
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE states similar tissue donation programs are in place            
 in Colorado, California, Texas, Florida, Missouri, and Ohio.  He              
 believes there may be other states with tissue donation programs of           
 which he is not aware.  He was personally involved with the                   
 Colorado program for about eleven years.  He is not aware of any              
 complaints from families that have been contacted for donation.               
 Only trained people contact families for donations.  Mr. Saakvitne            
 states he has taught family approach on a national basis.  He                 
 describes a typical contact to the committee.  Life Alaska has put            
 some families in contact with crisis intervention, victim's for               
 justice, and sent out vast amounts of bereavement literature to               
 grieving families.  This support from Life Alaska continues,                  
 regardless of what a families decision may be regarding donation.             
 We would like to take steps through this legislation to make sure             
 most families are at least given the option to make a donation.               
                                                                               
 Number 125                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN asks Mr. Saakvitne if any donations would ever be              
 made from fetal tissue.                                                       
                                                                               
 Number 130                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE responds no donations would ever be made from fetal             
 tissue.  Donations are made from full-term birth and on.  There               
 have been donations from several babies who were only a few weeks             
 old.  He does not see Life Alaska ever being involved in fetal                
 tissue donation, either currently or in the future.                           
                                                                               
                                                                               
 Number 142                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN asks Mr. Saakvitne if, in that case, it would not              
 hurt Life Alaska's mission if the committee were to clarify that in           
 the legislation.                                                              
                                                                               
 Number 145                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE replies it would only hurt Life Alaska's mission                
 insofar as to slow down the legislation.                                      
                                                                               
 Number 148                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR expresses concern that donor cards attached to                 
 driver's licenses do not appear to be working.                                
                                                                               
 Number 152                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE responds donor cards are currently not found in most            
 cases, even though there are laws that state hospitals, law                   
 enforcement, and medical personnel are supposed to check for donor            
 cards.  In practice, that very rarely happens.  What a donor card             
 does frequently do, is bring the issue to discussion in a family.             
 Technically, donor cards are a legal document, and Life Alaska                
 could go ahead and take donations based on the donor card, if the             
 existence of the card is known.  In point of fact, Life Alaska does           
 try to make it a family decision.                                             
                                                                               
 Number 166                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR states he has a donor card affixed to his Alaska               
 Driver's License, and is frustrated to hear the donor card system             
 is not working as it should be.                                               
                                                                               
 Number 185                                                                    
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE TOOHEY asks Senator Taylor to realize that organs              
 have to be removed from a living body, while tissue can be removed            
 within 24 hours after death.  That is the difference between organ            
 donation and tissue donation.  Tissue is very valuable, especially            
 small children's heart valves, bones, and corneas.  HB 323 relates            
 primarily to tissue donation.                                                 
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE states that, until two years ago, there was no tissue           
 donation option unless a person was also an organ donor.  This has            
 changed, but it will be a long term educational process, on which             
 Life Alaska is really working.                                                
                                                                               
 Number 210                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR states that information released from the coroner is           
 what will trigger the donation process.                                       
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN asks Mr. Johnson from the Department of Health &               
 Social Services to testify.                                                   
                                                                               
 Number 218                                                                    
                                                                               
 MARK JOHNSON, Coordinator, Emergency Medical Services, Division of            
 Public Health, Department of Health & Social Services states the              
 department supports HB 323, as does the Alaska Council on Emergency           
 Medical Services.  Mr. Johnson believes, with the new medical                 
 examiner system, that this process will work much better in the               
 future than it has in the past.                                               
                                                                               
 Number 235                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR asks Mr. Johnson to explain how HB 323 will change             
 things.                                                                       
                                                                               
 MR. JOHNSON replies, under current statutes there are                         
 confidentiality requirements that make it more difficult to give              
 information to Life Alaska.  This will relieve the coroner's office           
 of those requirements.                                                        
                                                                               
 Number 242                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR states those requirements are that the coroner                 
 notify next of kin.  He asks if the coroner would be able to notify           
 Life Alaska even before it has notified next of kin.                          
                                                                               
 Number 256                                                                    
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE responds they could, but it has been Life Alaska's              
 agreement and wish that Life Alaska not be given the information              
 until a family has been contacted.  That would be his worst                   
 nightmare.                                                                    
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR adds Life Alaska's phone call could be the next of             
 kin's first phone call, that is what he was getting at, and that              
 would be really rough.                                                        
                                                                               
 MR. SAAKVITNE states currently, the only information he receives              
 from the coroner's office is name and time of death.                          
                                                                               
 SENATOR TAYLOR states notification of family members is not a                 
 simplistic thing.  One doesn't just make a phone call, especially             
 when dealing with older persons who might not be able to handle the           
 stress of hearing of the death of their child.  Senator Taylor                
 foresees potential problems with the press hounding Life Alaska for           
 information.                                                                  
                                                                               
 Number 299                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN asks if there was a reason HB 323 does not have an             
 immediate effective date.                                                     
                                                                               
 (Apparently, there is no particular reason HB 323 does not have an            
 immediate effective date.)                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN LEMAN announces HB 323 will be held so the committee can             
 do some work on it.                                                           

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