READ FIRST TIME 02/28/03.   

     AN ACT Relating to the organ donor registry; amending RCW 68.50.530 and 68.50.540; adding new sections to chapter 68.50 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 46.20 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 46.12 RCW; and creating new sections.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the use of anatomical gifts, including the donation of organ or tissue, for the purpose of transplantation is of great interest to the citizens of Washington state and may save or prolong the life or improve the health of extremely ill and dying persons.
     The legislature further finds that more than eighty thousand people are currently waiting for life-saving organ transplants on the national transplant waiting list. More than one thousand two hundred of these people are listed at Washington state transplant centers. Nationally, seventeen people die each day as a result of the shortage of donated organs.
     The creation of a statewide organ and tissue donor registry is crucial to facilitate timely and successful organ and tissue procurement. The legislature further finds that continuing education as to the existence and maintenance of a statewide organ and tissue donor registry is in the best interest of the people of the state of Washington.

Sec. 2   RCW 68.50.530 and 1996 c 178 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     Unless the context requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout RCW 68.50.520 through ((68.50.630)) 68.50.620, sections 3 and 7 of this act, and 68.50.901 through 68.50.904.
     (1) "Anatomical gift" means a donation of all or part of a human body to take effect upon or after death.
     (2) "Decedent" means a deceased individual.
     (3) "Document of gift" means a card, a statement attached to or imprinted on a motor vehicle operator's license, a will, or other writing used to make an anatomical gift.
     (4) "Donor" means an individual who makes an anatomical gift of all or part of the individual's body.
     (5) "Enucleator" means an individual who is qualified to remove or process eyes or parts of eyes.
     (6) "Hospital" means a facility licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW, or as a hospital under the law of any state or a facility operated as a hospital by the United States government, a state, or a subdivision of a state.
     (7) "Part" means an organ, tissue, eye, bone, artery, blood, fluid, or other portion of a human body.
     (8) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, joint venture, association, government, governmental subdivision or agency, or any other legal or commercial entity.
     (9) "Physician" or "surgeon" means an individual licensed or otherwise authorized to practice medicine and surgery or osteopathic medicine and surgery under chapters 18.71 and 18.57 RCW.
     (10) "Procurement organization" means a person licensed, accredited, or approved under the laws of any state for procurement, distribution, or storage of human bodies or parts.
     (11) "Reasonable costs" include: (a) Programming and software installation and upgrades; (b) employee training that is specific to the organ and tissue donor registry or the donation program created in section 6 of this act; (c) literature that is specific to the organ and tissue donor registry or the donation program created in section 6 of this act; and (d) hardware upgrades or other issues important to the organ and tissue donor registry or the donation program created in section 6 of this act that have been mutually agreed upon in advance by the department of licensing and the Washington state organ procurement organizations.
     (12) "State" means a state, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
     (((12))) (13) "Technician" means an individual who is qualified to remove or process a part.
     (14) "Washington state organ procurement organization" means an organ procurement organization that has been designated by the United States department of health and human services to coordinate organ procurement activities for any portion of Washington state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 68.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department of licensing shall electronically transfer all information that appears on the front of a driver's license or identicard including the name, gender, date of birth, and most recent address of any person who obtains a driver's license or identicard and volunteers to donate organs or tissue upon death to any Washington state organ procurement organization that intends to establish a statewide organ and tissue donor registry as provided under subsection (2) of this section. All subsequent electronic transfers of donor information shall be at no charge to this Washington state organ procurement organization.
     (2) Information obtained by a Washington state organ procurement organization under subsection (1) of this section shall be used for the purpose of establishing a statewide organ and tissue donor registry accessible to in-state recognized cadaveric organ and cadaveric tissue agencies for the recovery or placement of organs and tissue and to procurement agencies in another state when a Washington state resident is a donor of an anatomical gift and is not located in this state at the time of death or immediately before the death of the donor. Any registry created using information acquired under subsection (1) of this section must include all residents of Washington state regardless of their residence within the service area designated by the federal government.
     (3) No organ or tissue donation organization may obtain information from the organ and tissue donor registry for the purposes of fund raising. Organ and tissue donor registry information may not be further disseminated unless authorized in this section or by federal law. Dissemination of organ and tissue donor registry information may be made by a Washington state organ procurement organization to another Washington state organ procurement organization, a recognized in-state procurement agency for other tissue recovery, or an out-of-state federally designated organ procurement organization that has been designated by the United States department of health and human services to serve an area outside Washington.
     (4) A Washington state organ procurement organization may acquire donor information from sources other than the department of licensing.
     (5) All reasonable costs associated with the creation of an organ and tissue donor registry shall be paid by the Washington state organ procurement organization that has requested the information. The reasonable costs associated with the initial installation and setup for electronic transfer of the donor information at the department of licensing shall be paid by the Washington state organ procurement organization that requested the information.
     (6) An individual does not need to participate in the organ and tissue donor registry to be a donor of organs or tissue. The registry is to facilitate organ and tissue donations and not inhibit persons from being donors upon death.

Sec. 4   RCW 68.50.540 and 1995 c 132 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An individual who is at least eighteen years of age, or an individual who is at least sixteen years of age as provided in subsection (12) of this section, may (a) make an anatomical gift for any of the purposes stated in RCW 68.50.570(1), (b) limit an anatomical gift to one or more of those purposes, or (c) refuse to make an anatomical gift.
     (2) An anatomical gift may be made by a document of gift signed by the donor. If the donor cannot sign, the document of gift must be signed by another individual and by two witnesses, all of whom have signed at the direction and in the presence of the donor and of each other and state that it has been so signed.
     (3) If a document of gift is attached to or imprinted on a donor's motor vehicle operator's license, the document of gift must comply with subsection (2) of this section. Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of the license does not invalidate the anatomical gift.
     (4) The donee or other person authorized to accept the anatomical gift may employ or authorize a physician, surgeon, technician, or enucleator to carry out the appropriate procedures.
     (5) An anatomical gift by will takes effect upon death of the testator, whether or not the will is probated. If, after death, the will is declared invalid for testamentary purposes, the validity of the anatomical gift is unaffected.
     (6)(a) A donor may amend or revoke an anatomical gift, not made by will, by:
     (((a))) (i) A signed statement;
     (((b))) (ii) An oral statement made in the presence of two individuals;
     (((c))) (iii) Any form of communication during a terminal illness or injury; or
     (((d))) (iv) The delivery of a signed statement to a specified donee to whom a document of gift had been delivered.
     (b) A donor shall notify a Washington state organ procurement organization of the destruction, cancellation, or mutilation of the document of gift for the purpose of removing the person's name from the organ and tissue donor registry created in section 3 of this act. If the Washington state organ procurement organization that is notified does not maintain a registry for Washington residents, it shall notify all Washington state organ procurement organizations that do maintain such a registry.
     (7) The donor of an anatomical gift made by will may amend or revoke the gift in the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills, or as provided in subsection (6) of this section.
     (8) An anatomical gift that is not revoked by the donor before death is irrevocable and does not require the consent or concurrence of a person after the donor's death.
     (9) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part by (a) a writing signed in the same manner as a document of gift, (b) a statement attached to or imprinted on a donor's motor vehicle operator's license, or (c) another writing used to identify the individual as refusing to make an anatomical gift. During a terminal illness or injury, the refusal may be an oral statement or other form of communication.
     (10) In the absence of contrary indications by the donor, an anatomical gift of a part is neither a refusal to give other parts nor a limitation on an anatomical gift under RCW 68.50.550.
     (11) In the absence of contrary indications by the donor, a revocation or amendment of an anatomical gift is not a refusal to make another anatomical gift. If the donor intends a revocation to be a refusal to make an anatomical gift, the donor shall make the refusal pursuant to subsection (9) of this section.
     (12) An individual who is under the age of eighteen, but is at least sixteen years of age, may make an anatomical gift as provided by subsection (2) of this section, if the document of gift is also signed by either parent or a guardian of the donor. A document of gift signed by a donor under the age of eighteen that is not signed by either parent or a guardian shall not be considered valid until the person reaches the age of eighteen, but may be considered as evidence that the donor has not refused permission to make an anatomical gift under the provisions of RCW 68.50.550.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 46.20 RCW to read as follows:
     The department shall electronically transfer the information of all persons who upon application for a driver's license or identicard volunteer to donate organs or tissue to a registry created in section 3 of this act, and any subsequent changes to the applicant's donor status when the applicant renews a driver's license or identicard or applies for a new driver's license or identicard.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   A new section is added to chapter 46.12 RCW to read as follows:
     An applicant for a new or renewed registration for a vehicle required to be registered under this chapter or chapter 46.16 RCW may make a donation of one dollar or more to the organ and tissue donation awareness account to promote the donation of organs and tissues under the provisions of the uniform anatomical gift act, RCW 68.50.520 through 68.50.630. The department shall collect the donations and credit the donations to the organ and tissue donation awareness account, created in section 7 of this act. At least quarterly, the department shall transmit donations made to the organ and tissue donation awareness account to the foundation established for organ and tissue donation awareness purposes by the Washington state organ procurement organizations. All Washington state organ procurement organizations will have proportional access to these funds to conduct public education in their service areas. The donation of one or more dollars is voluntary and may be refused by the applicant. The department shall make available informational booklets or other informational sources on the importance of organ and tissue donations to applicants.
     The department shall inquire of each applicant at the time the completed application is presented whether the applicant is interested in making a donation of one dollar or more and shall also specifically inform the applicant of the option for organ and tissue donations as required by RCW 46.20.113. The department shall also provide written information to each applicant volunteering to become an organ and tissue donor. The written information shall disclose that the applicant's name shall be transmitted to the organ and tissue donor registry created in section 3 of this act, and that the applicant shall notify a Washington state organ procurement organization of any changes to the applicant's donor status.
     All reasonable costs associated with the creation of the donation program created under this section must be paid proportionally or by other agreement by a Washington state organ procurement organization.
     For the purposes of this section, "reasonable costs" and "Washington state organ procurement organization" have the same meaning as defined in RCW 68.50.530.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   A new section is added to chapter 68.50 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The organ and tissue donation awareness account is created in the custody of the state treasurer. All receipts from donations made under section 6 of this act, and other contributions and appropriations specifically made for the purposes of organ and tissue donor awareness, shall be deposited into the account. Except as provided in subsection (2) of this section, expenditures from the account may be authorized by the director of the department of licensing or the director's designee and do not require an appropriation.
     (2) The department of licensing shall submit a funding request to the legislature covering the reasonable costs associated with the ongoing maintenance associated with the electronic transfer of the donor information to the organ and tissue donor registry and the donation program established in section 6 of this act. The legislature shall appropriate to the department of licensing an amount it deems reasonable from the organ and tissue donation awareness account to the department of licensing for these purposes.
     (3) At least quarterly, the department of licensing shall transmit any remaining moneys in the organ and tissue donation awareness account to the foundation established in section 6 of this act for the costs associated with educating the public about the organ and tissue donor registry and related organ and tissue donation education programs.
     (4) Funding for donation awareness programs must be proportional across the state regardless of which Washington state organ procurement organization may be designated by the United States department of health and human services to serve a particular geographic area. No funds from the account may be used to fund activities outside Washington state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   Section 6 of this act takes effect with registrations that are due or become due January 1, 2004, or later.