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1999 SESSION
WHEREAS, the Joint Commission on Health Care recently completed a review of organ donation issues in the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, organ transplantation is an increasingly common and successful medical procedure for improving and prolonging the lives of individuals suffering from kidney, liver, heart, lung, and pancreas failure; and
WHEREAS, the demand for human organs for transplantation far exceeds the available supply such that 1,451 individuals were on transplant waiting lists at Virginia transplant centers during 1997; and
WHEREAS, the number of deaths of individuals who are awaiting an organ transplant increased by 167 percent nationally from 1988 to 1996; and
WHEREAS, 111 individuals died in Virginia during 1997 while awaiting an organ transplant; and
WHEREAS, 63 organ procurement organizations (OPOs) have been designated and certified by the United States Health Care Financing Administration (HCFA) to retrieve, preserve, and transport organs, and to maintain a system of locating prospective recipients for available organs within specified geographic regions of the United States; and
WHEREAS, five OPOs have been designated and certified by HCFA to retrieve, preserve, and transport organs, and to maintain a system of locating prospective recipients for available organs within specified geographic regions of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, service areas designated by HCFA for three of the five OPOs currently operating in Virginia include significant portions of other states and the District of Columbia; and
WHEREAS, there were 121 organ donors in Virginia during 1997, representing 22 percent of the potential donors referred to OPOs; and
WHEREAS, the number of organs procured in Virginia during 1997 was 66 per one million population, which was below the national average of 75 organs procured per one million population, and likewise, Virginia's 18 organ donors per one million population was below the national average of 21 organ donors per one million population during 1997; and
WHEREAS, Virginia currently imposes no statutory or regulatory requirements on the structure or operations of OPOs; and
WHEREAS, some level of state accountability of OPOs may help to promote more accurate assessment of OPO performance in procuring organs for transplantation; and
WHEREAS, it is unclear what impact, if any, the number of OPOs operating in Virginia may have on uniformity of service, efficient use of resources, and equal access for all Virginians to organs recovered within the boundaries of the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, some OPOs operating in certain states have in recent years consolidated their activities with other OPOs within the state; and
WHEREAS, the Virginia Transplant Council (VTC) is located within the Virginia Department of Health and as such is accountable to the State Health Commissioner and to the State Board of Health; and
WHEREAS, the VTC has statutory responsibility for conducting educational and informational activities, and coordinating such activities as they relate to organ, tissue, and eye donation, procurement, and transplantation efforts within the Commonwealth; and
WHEREAS, the membership of the VTC is comprised of transplant centers, OPOs, eye banks, and tissue banks, as well as the Departments of Education, Health Professions, and Motor Vehicles; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is required by law to establish a method by which an applicant for a driver’s license or identification card may designate his or her willingness to be an organ donor, and the DMV is required to cooperate with the VTC to ensure that the method is designed to encourage organ donation with a minimum of effort; and
WHEREAS, as of November 1998, there were approximately 6.1 million individuals holding a Virginia driver’s license or photo identification card issued by DMV, of which approximately 1.4 million displayed an indicator expressing a willingness to be an organ donor; and
WHEREAS, the number of individuals who have placed an organ donor indicator on their Virginia driver’s licenses during transactions at DMV offices decreased from 775,561 during 1995 to 338,847 during 1997; and
WHEREAS, the VTC is not specifically authorized by the Code of Virginia to maintain a state organ donor registry; and
WHEREAS, the VTC would like to increase access to the Commonwealth's organ donor registry data maintained by DMV such that the data could be analyzed as a means of improving the coordination of VTC's educational and informational activities; and
WHEREAS, DMV performs activities to provide information intended to promote public awareness of the importance of organ donation; and
WHEREAS, it is useful to review the role of DMV, and the relationship between DMV and VTC, in order to ensure that organ donation information is being provided to Virginians in the most efficient and effective manner possible; and
WHEREAS, efficient and effective organ recovery and transplantation are vital components to the Commonwealth's overall health care delivery system; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the Joint Commission on Health Care be directed to continue its review of organ donation issues in the Commonwealth by examining the appropriate level of state oversight of organ procurement organizations and the role of the Department of Motor Vehicles within the state's overall efforts to promote organ donation. The Commission shall also consider the degree to which the number of organ procurement organizations serving the Commonwealth may affect organ recovery and allocation.
All agencies of the Commonwealth, including the Virginia Transplant Council and each of its member organizations, shall provide assistance to the Joint Commission on Health Care and its staff, upon request.
The Joint Commission on Health Care shall complete its work in time to submit its findings and recommendations to the Governor and the 2000 Session of the General Assembly as provided in the procedures of the Division of Legislative Automated Systems for the processing of legislative documents.