Bill > HB510

This bill establishes new procedures and definitions related to organ donation safety in Kentucky, specifically focusing on a "pause in procedure," which means temporarily stopping any organ recovery, preservation, or procurement activities. It defines terms like "death declaration" (the formal determination of death by a physician), "Donation after brain death" (DBD), and "Donation after circulatory death" (DCD), which are types of organ donation processes. The bill mandates that a pause in procedure must be initiated if any involved individual reports a suspected change in neurological status, an indication of life, or uncertainty about the accuracy of death assessments during DCD or DBD recovery. During a pause, all organ donation activities cease, a comprehensive reassessment of the patient's status is conducted by the hospital's clinical team, and organ donation activities cannot resume until a hospital physician reconfirms the patient's status and deems DCD or DBD appropriate. The bill also clarifies that patients cannot be denied comfort care, nutrition, hydration, or life-sustaining treatment solely for organ donation purposes, and any pause must be documented. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services is tasked with promulgating regulations to implement and enforce these provisions, reporting on pause in procedure cases to the Legislative Research Commission, and facing potential penalties for non-compliance. Importantly, the bill states it should not conflict with existing laws on death determination, discourage ethical organ donation, interfere with end-of-life decisions, conflict with the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act, or allow the Commonwealth to affect federal organ procurement organization certifications.

Health and Social Services

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb510.html