Provides for eye and tissue donation

• Democratic7
• Republican2

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Monica Martinez says this is needed

Unlike donations of major organs, eye and tissue donations can be initi- ated up to 24 hours after death and can be processed and stored for an extended period of time. Various tissue may be donated, including corneas/whole eyes, skin, bone, heart valves, tendons/ligaments and blood vessels. In fact, one tissue donor can potentially restore the health and heal the lives of more than 75 people. Cornea donations help restore sight to people suffering from corneal blindness caused by disease, injury or infection. Donated skin helps burn victims; bone can be used in certain dental procedures, spinal. disc surgeries and bone grafting; heart valves are used to replace damaged valves; tendons/ligaments can be used to repair damaged ACLs; and blood vessels are used for cardiac bypass surgeries. Despite a federal mandate in 1998 which directed hospitals to diligently refer all deaths occurring in a hospital to the federally designated Organ Procurement Organization (as well as a regulatory change making compliance with the law a requirement under the Conditions of Partic- ipation for Medicare and Medicaid), there is no federal or NYS mandate directing coroners and medical examiners to refer deaths to procurement organizations. This omission creates a loophole in the referral law that hampers referrals when deaths fall under the jurisdiction of a coroner or medical examiner. The National Association of Medical Examiners (NAME) has long held the position that "Medical Examiners/Coroners (ME/Cs) and Organ/Tissue Procurement Organizations (0/TP0s) should work cooperatively together and establish prospective agreements, protocols, or memoranda of under- standing to ensure that both parties get what is needed and that procurement of organs and/or tissues from cases falling under MC/C jurisdiction can be maximized." Specifically, NAME calls on ME/Cs to "permit the recovery of organs and/or tissues from decedents falling under their jurisdiction in virtually all cases, to include cases of suspected child abuse, other homicides, and sudden unexpected deaths in infants." Despite significant advancements since 1998 to expand donor enrollment opportunities, New York state remains far behind other states in its rate of registry participation. As of 2023, 46% of New York's eligible population has enrolled as organ donors, but the need for donations calls for enrollment levels closer to 65%. Approximately 105,000 people are currently on the national organ transplant waitlist, and 8,200 of those people are New Yorkers. One thousand one hundred and fifty (1,150) such New Yorkers have been on the waitlist for more than five years. Current New York state law fails to require agreements and/or protocols between coroners/medical examiners and procurement organizations. Although some counties in New York state have adopted protocols with their procurement organizations, many have not. Since a significant proportion of potential eye and tissue donors fall within a coroner's or medical examiner's jurisdiction, this bill will significantly increase essential interactions between coroners/medical examiners and procure- ment organizations, leading to an increase in the number of determi- nations made concerning suitability for donation after death, and ulti- mately, to an increase in the number of donations made.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.