68.64.200 - Organ and tissue donor registry. - Washington Statutes

Organ and tissue donor registry.

(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.

[2003 c 94 § 3. Formerly RCW 68.50.635.]

Notes: Findings -- 2003 c 94: "The legislature finds that the use of anatomical gifts, including the donation of organ[s] 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 legislation 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." [2003 c 94 § 1.]