HBA-MPM H.B. 2277 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2277
By: Janek
Public Health
3/15/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The current system of organ allocation stems from a 1984 federal law, the
Organ Procurement and Transplantation Act, which gives the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services jurisdiction over the national organ
allocation program.  Waiting lists for organs are maintained by local organ
procurement organizations, and the system itself is supervised by the
United Network for Organ Sharing. 

H.B. 2277 requires that organs recovered in Texas will be first offered to
patients on a waiting list in Texas hospitals before being made available
to potential recipients in other states. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 692.002, Health and Safety Code, by adding
Subdivisions (10) and (11), as follows: 

(10)  Defines "transplant center" as a hospital that maintains a waiting
list, receives vascularized organs for the purpose of transplantation, and
transplants organs into patients at the hospital. 

(11)  Defines "waiting list" as a patient waiting list of persons who are
waiting for a vascular organ transplant. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 692.005, Health and Safety Code, to include a
qualified organ procurement organization (organization), for distribution
to another person who may be a donee under this section, to be used for
transplantation, among a list of persons who may be donees of gifts of
bodies or parts.  Redesignates existing Subdivisions (1)-(6) to
Subdivisions (2)-(7), respectively.  
SECTION 3.  Amends Section 692.006(a), Health and Safety Code, to provide
that if a person dies in this state and does not specify the donee and the
gift is a vascular organ that is suitable for transplantation, an
organization in this state is considered the specified donee.  Makes
nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 4.  Amends Chapter 692, Health and Safety Code, by adding Section
692.0145, as follows: 

Sec. 692.0145.  DISTRIBUTION OF VASCULAR ORGANS FOR TRANSPLANTATION. (a)
Requires an organization that receives a vascular organ suitable for
transplantation to distribute the organ to an individual on a waiting list
to be transplanted at a transplant center in this state.  Requires the
organization, in accordance with its adopted protocol, to offer the organ
to another organization for distribution to an individual on a waiting list
if the organ will not be used for transplantation in this state. 

 SECTION 5.Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.