§8617. Requests for anatomical gifts.

(a) Procedure.--On or before the occurrence of each death in an acute care general hospital, the hospital shall make contact with the regional organ procurement organization in order to determine the suitability for organ, tissue and eye donation for any purpose specified under this subchapter. This contact and the disposition shall be noted on the patient's medical record.

(b) Limitation.--If the hospital administrator or his designee has received actual notice of opposition from any of the persons named in section 8611(b) (relating to persons who may execute anatomical gift) and the decedent was not in possession of a validly executed donor card, the gift of all or any part of the decedent's body shall not be requested.

(c) Donor card.--Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the intent of a decedent to participate in an organ donor program as evidenced by the possession of a validly executed donor card, donor driver's license, living will, durable power of attorney or other document of gift shall not be revoked by any member of any of the classes specified in section 8611(b).

(d) Identification of potential donors.--Each acute care general hospital shall develop within one year of the date of final enactment of this section, with the concurrence of the hospital medical staff, a protocol for identifying potential organ and tissue donors. It shall require that, at or near the time of every individual death, all acute care general hospitals contact by telephone their regional organ procurement organization to determine suitability for organ, tissue and eye donation of the individual in question. The person designated by the acute care general hospital to contact the organ procurement organization shall have the following information available prior to making the contact:

(1) The patient's identifier number.

(2) The patient's age.

(3) The cause of death.

(4) Any past medical history available.

The organ procurement organization, in consultation with the patient's attending physician or his designee, shall determine the suitability for donation. If the organ procurement organization in consultation with the patient's attending physician or his designee determines that donation is not appropriate based on established medical criteria, this shall be noted by hospital personnel on the patient's record, and no further action is necessary. If the organ procurement organization in consultation with the patient's attending physician or his designee determines that the patient is a suitable candidate for anatomical donation, the acute care general hospital shall initiate a request by informing the persons and following the procedure designated under section 8611(b) of the option to donate organs, tissues or eyes. The person initiating the request shall be an organ procurement organization representative or a designated requestor. The organ procurement organization representative or designated requestor shall ask persons pursuant to section 8611(b) whether the deceased was an organ donor. If the person designated under section 8611(b) does not know, then this person shall be informed of the option to donate organs and tissues. The protocol shall encourage discretion and sensitivity to family circumstances in all discussions regarding donations of tissue or organs. The protocol shall take into account the deceased individual's religious beliefs or nonsuitability for organ and tissue donation.

(e) Tissue procurement.--

(1) The first priority use for all tissue shall be transplantation.

(2) Upon Department of Health approval of guidelines pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(ii), all acute care general hospitals shall select at least one tissue procurement provider. A hospital shall notify the regional organ procurement organization of its choice of tissue procurement providers. If a hospital chooses more than one tissue procurement provider, it may specify a rotation of referrals by the organ procurement organization to the designated tissue procurement providers.

(3) Until the Department of Health has approved guidelines pursuant to subsection (f)(1)(ii), tissue referrals at each hospital shall be rotated in a proportion equal to the average rate of donors recovered among the tissue procurement providers at that hospital during the two-year period ending August 31, 1994.

(4) The regional organ procurement organization, with the assistance of tissue procurement providers, shall submit an annual report to the General Assembly on the following:

(i) The number of tissue donors.

(ii) The number of tissue procurements for transplantation.

(iii) The number of tissue procurements recovered for research by each tissue procurement provider operating in this Commonwealth.

(f) Guidelines.--

(1) The Department of Health, in consultation with organ procurement organizations, tissue procurement providers and the Hospital Association of Pennsylvania, donor recipients and family appointed pursuant to section 8622(c)(3) (relating to The Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund) shall, within six months of the effective date of this chapter, do all of the following:

(i) Establish guidelines regarding efficient procedures facilitating the delivery of anatomical gift donations from receiving hospitals to procurement providers.

(ii) Develop guidelines to assist hospitals in the selection and designation of tissue procurement providers.

(2) Each organ procurement organization and each tissue procurement provider operating within this Commonwealth shall, within six months of the effective date of this chapter, file with the Department of Health, for public review, its operating protocols.

(g) Death record review.--

(1) The Department of Health shall make annual death record reviews at acute care general hospitals to determine their compliance with subsection (d).

(2) To conduct a review of an acute care general hospital, the following apply:

(i) The Department of Health shall select to carry out the review the Commonwealth-licensed organ procurement organization designated by the Health Care Financing Administration for the region within which the acute care general hospital is located. For an organ procurement organization to be selected under this subparagraph, the organization must not operate nor have an ownership interest in an entity which provides all of the functions of a tissue procurement provider.

(ii) If there is no valid selection under subparagraph (i) or if the organization selected under subparagraph (i) is unwilling to carry out the review, the department shall select to carry out the review any other Commonwealth-licensed organ procurement organization. For an organ procurement organization to be selected under this subparagraph, the organization must not operate nor have an ownership interest in an entity which provides all of the functions of a tissue procurement provider.

(iii) If there is no valid selection under subparagraph (ii) or if the organization selected under subparagraph (ii) is unwilling to carry out the review, the department shall carry out the review using trained department personnel.

(3) There shall be no cost assessed against a hospital for a review under this subsection.

(4) If the department finds, on the basis of a review under this subsection, that a hospital is not in compliance with subsection (d), the department may impose an administrative fine of up to $500 for each instance of noncompliance. A fine under this paragraph is subject to 2 Pa.C.S. Ch. 5 Subch. A (relating to practice and procedure of Commonwealth agencies) and Ch. 7 Subch. A (relating to judicial review of Commonwealth agency action). Fines collected under this paragraph shall be deposited into the fund.

(h) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection:

"Designated requestor." A hospital employee completing a course offered by an organ procurement organization on how to approach potential donor families and request organ or tissue donation.

"Noncompliance." Any failure on the part of a hospital to contact an organ procurement organization as required under subsection (d).

(Dec. 20, 2000, P.L.881, No.120, eff. imd.)

Notation

2000 Amendment.  Act 120 amended subsec. (f). See sections 2, 3 and 4 of Act 120 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to references to Organ Donation Awareness Trust Fund, use of existing forms by Department of Revenue and use of existing forms by Department of Transportation.

Cross References.  Section 8617 is referred to in sections 8622, 8624 of this title.