TO ALL OHIO SENATORS:
I OPPOSE HOUSE BILL 529 CONCERNING THE REVISED UNIFORM ANATOMICAL GIFT ACT for the following reasons:
1. House Bill 529 creates presumed intent for organ donation of all Ohio citizens. Upon need of treatment and care and on a ventilator, a person’s treatment and care will definitely be altered if the hospital refers an individual to an organ procurement organization (OPO). “Measures necessary to ensure the medical suitability of the part shall not be withdrawn”. These “measures” are not beneficial to a patient but can be considered harmful [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.14(B)].
2. House Bill 529 removes the current requirement that a person must be of sound mind to consent to being a harvested donor and/or research material [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.01(A)]. Vulnerable populations, such as the elderly and mentally ill will certainly be taken advantage of by tissue banks and others who offer “free cremation” etc… in exchange for whole body donation (See Redwood Funeral Society Special Edition, April 2004, Vol. 9 No. 1).
3. House Bill 529 lacks the requirement for full and explicit informed consent standards that explain the procedures of pre-harvesting medicines and how the donor is either kept on a ventilator, reventilated or placed on a heart-lung machine to facilitate organ harvesting. Full and explicit consent of this and every other procedure ought to be required before a person commits to being placed on an organ donation registry.
4. House Bill 529 allows not only physicians but also technicians to remove donated parts from a living, breathing, ventilated donor [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.16(A)].
5. House Bill 529 states: “During a terminal illness or injury of the donor, communicating in any manner” can be construed to mean “that the donor intends to make an anatomical gift” [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.05(A)(4)].
6. House Bill 529 states:”Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a driver’s license or identification card upon which an anatomical gift is indicated does not invalidate the gift” [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.05(C)].
7. House Bill 529 traps a previously registered donor because ”a donor’s revocation of an anatomical gift of the donor’s body or part is not a refusal and shall not bar another person specified in the now expanded list from making an anatomical gift of the donor’s body or part” [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.04, Sec. 2108.05, Sec. 2108.06, Sec. 2108.08(B), Sec. 2108.09, Sec. 2108.09(A), and Sec. 2108.10(C)].
8. House Bill 529 allows children in Ohio as young as 15 ½ years of age to consent to organ donation when applying for a temporary instruction permit. Parents may revoke the child’s refusal or anatomical gift only if they are reasonably available which is defined as being “able to be contacted by a procurement organization without undue effort and willing and able to act in a timely manner” [See HB 529 Sec. 2108.04(A)(2), Sec. 2108.06(B)(6), and Sec. 2108.01 (X)].
Sign and date_______________________________________________
(Copy and Paste this above text into and email it to the following Ohio Senator's)
c/o: Honorable Ohio Senator Kevin Coughlin
Chair; Health, Human Services and Aging
Senate Building
Room #137, First Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Telephone: 614/466-4823
Email:kcoughli@mailr.sen.state.oh.us
c/o: Honorable Ohio Senator Shirley Smith
Ranking Minority Member; Health, Human Services and Aging
Statehouse
Room #223, Second Floor
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Telephone: 614/466-4857
Email: senatorsmith@maild.sen.state.oh.us