2007 Announcements
2 Million Minnesotans Register as Organ and Tissue Donors
October 15, 2007
Minnesota surpassed a donation milestone last month as more than 2 million Minnesotans have now documented their decision to be an organ and tissue donor by registering on their driver’s license, state identification card or in the online donor registry ( HYPERLINK "http://www.DonateLifeMN.org" www.DonateLifeMN.org). This makes Minnesota one of only 11 states to have reached the 2 million mark, and accounts for 48% of licensed drivers and state identification card holders.
More than 1,000 Minors in North Dakota Register as Organ and Tissue Donors
October 11, 2007
In the two months since a change in North Dakota state law was enacted allowing minors to document their donation decision, more than 1,000 youth have registered as organ and tissue donors on their driver’s license. The August 1st change in law was part of the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), passed by the legislature last April. Historically, North Dakotans could not document their decision about donation until after their 18th birthday.
Minors are part of an increasing trend as North Dakotans of all ages register as organ and tissue donors. Currently, there are 282,121 North Dakotans who have registered to give the gift of life through organ and tissue donation, representing 58% of licensed drivers and 44% of the total population. For comparison, 36% of Americans have documented a donation decision.
Four Hospitals in Upper Midwest Receive Third Consecutive Honor from Department of Health and Human Services
October 9, 2007
Four hospitals in the Upper Midwest received the Health and Human Services (HHS) Medal of Honor for a third consecutive year during a meeting in Nashville, Tennessee of the Breakthrough Collaborative National Learning Congress on Organ Donation and Transplantation. These hospitals include Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD; Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, MN; MeritCare Hospital in Fargo, ND; and St. Mary’s Medical Center in Rochester, MN.
The Medal of Honor award is presented to hospitals and organ procurement organizations who achieve life-saving organ donation rates of 75% or more for a sustained twelve month period. Nationally, 392 hospitals were bestowed with this honor yet only 108 received this award for the third consecutive year. The Medal of Honor Award is one element of highly successful national initiatives launched by the Health Resources and Services Administration to increase organ donation rates in the nation’s largest hospitals, thus increasing the number of lives saved through transplantation.
LifeSource Tissue Program Expands with LifeNet Partnership
September 28, 2007
LifeSource is pleased to announce the expansion of its tissue program through an increased partnership with LifeNet Health, a leading biomedical and allograft agency. LifeSource and LifeNet Health currently work together to manage and process the donation of life-saving heart valves for transplant; this expansion will provide opportunities for LifeNet Health to process life-saving musculoskeletal tissues for transplantation in the Upper Midwest. LifeSource will continue to work with the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation (MTF) as its primary musculoskeletal tissue processor.
Change in North Dakota Law Allows Minors to Designate their Donation Decision
August 1, 2007
Beginning August 1, minors in North Dakota will be able to do something they have never been able to do before – register to be an organ and tissue donor on their driver’s license. The change comes as part of the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA), passed by the legislature in April. Historically, North Dakotans could not document their decision about donation until after their 18th birthday.
Parental approval on the driver’s license application will provide the opportunity for family discussion about this life-saving topic; although minors can document their positive decision about donation on their license, the parent or guardian will make the final decision at the time of potential donation. This change in legislation will also allow for increased youth education about organ and tissue donation and transplantation, so that North Dakotans are well-informed about this life-saving decision.
South Dakota Enacts Organ and Tissue Donation Legislation
March 22, 2007
South Dakota is leading the national movement to adopt the 2006 Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) by becoming an early adopter of the legislation on Friday when Governor Rounds signed the new Act into law. The goal of the legislation is to positively advance organ and tissue donation to help save lives through transplantation. Only three other states – Idaho, Utah and Virginia – have adopted the revised Act.
The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act regulates organ and tissue donation for transplantation in the United States. First written in 1968, the UAGA was adopted by all states; it was then rewritten in 1987 and adopted by 26 states. Key changes in the newly-adopted Act include a new class in the hierarchy of people who can make a donation decision on behalf of a person who made no lifetime decision, encourages coordination between the organ recovery organization and coroners to maximize donation and recognizing donation decisions made in other states. The authors on the bill were Senator Thomas Dempster (R, Sioux Falls) and Representative David Lust (R, Rapid City).
