An Act To Honor the Intent of Organ Donors
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0257
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: FAIRCLOTH, PENDLETON, CURLEY, KANE, SUSLOVIC, WALCOTT, BENNETT, BRENNAN
Amends: 22 MRSA §2911, 26 MRSA §979-D, 29-A MRSA §1301, 29-A MRSA §1354, 29-A MRSA §1402-A

Legislative Document 
No. 257 
H.P.212 
House of Representatives, January 23,2003 
An Act To Honor the Intent of Organ Donors 
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative FAIRCLOTH of Bangor. 
Cosponsored by Senator PENDLETON of Cumberland and 
17/~1?1.1Jl~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CURLEY of Scarborough, KANE of Saco, MARRACH::E of Waterville, 
SUSLOVIC of Portland, WALCOTT of Lewiston, Senators: BENNETT of Oxford, 
BRENNAN of Cumberland. 
Printed on recyded paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 18·A MRSA §5·816·A is enacted to read: 
§5-816-A. 
Registration 
Beginning January 1, 2004 a person who possesses an advance 
health care directive 
executed 
pursuant 
to 
this Part 
shall 
deliver the advance health care directive to the Maine Organ 
Donor 
Registry 
established 
pursuant 
to 
Title 
29-A, 
section 
1402-A, 
subsection 4, 
paragraph A. 
This 
section applies 
to 
persons executing an advance health care directive, attorneys, 
health care providers, surrogates and any other who possesses an 
advance health care directive executed by another person. 
Sec. 2. 20·A MRSA §8702, sub·§1 is enacted to read: 
1. 
Curriculum beginning 
January 
1, 
2004. 
The 
driver 
education course curriculum must include a short segment on organ 
and 
tissue 
donation, 
including 
at 
a 
minimum 
the 
following 
information: 
A. 
A statement that it is the policy of the State to 
provide information regarding the opportunity to save lives 
through organ and tissue donation; and 
B. 
Reguirements for indicating the intention to donate. 
Sec. 3. 22 MRSA §2911 is enacted to read: 
§2911. 
Bonor intent of organ donors 
1. General rule. 
The intention of 
a 
person to make 
a 
donation of that person's own body organ or tissue after death 
must 
be 
honored. 
In 
the 
absence 
of 
a 
written 
statement 
overriding donor 
intent in accordance with subsection 
2, 
or 
revocation or amendment of the donor's execution of the intent to 
donate under section 2906, Title 18-A, Article 5, Part 8 or Title 
A, 
section 1402 A, 
health care providers licensed in this 
State and federally designated organ procurement organizations 
shall act in accordance with the donor's intention and may take 
appropriate actions to effect the gift. 
2. 
Overriding donor intent. 
Next of kin to a person who 
has expressed intent to donate that person's own body organ or 
tissue after death may override the intention of the donor in 
accordance with this subsection by executing a written statement, 
witnessed by 
persons who 
are not relatives of the donor, 
indicating awareness of the expressed intention of the donor. 
The written statement must indicate that the signer has discussed 
Page l-LR0263(1) 
with personnel 
at 
a 
hospital 
licensed in this 
State 
these 
provisions concerning honoring the intent of organ donors and 
include: 
A. 
An indication that the donor revoked or altered the 
statement of intent to donate, as provided in section 2906 
or Title 18 A, Article 5, Part 8. 
Next of kin acting under 
this 
paragraph shall 
provide 
evidence 
of 
revocation or 
alteration by the 
donor after 
the date of 
the donor's 
expressing a willingness or intention to donate; or 
B. 
An indication of the decision of the signer to override 
the expressed intention of the donor. 
If more 
than one person gualifies as next of kin and also 
gualifies to execute an anatomical gift of all or part of the 
decedent's body under this chapter or any other provision of law, 
the 
document 
used 
to 
override 
donor 
intent 
must 
show 
the 
agreement of a majority of those persons at the level of priority 
of the signer under Title 18 A, 
section 5 805 or Title 
22, 
section 2902, subsection 2. 
Sec. 4. 26 MRSA §979-D, sub-§1. 1JE, as amended by PL 1997, c. 
741, 
§6 
and affected by §12, 
is further amended by amending 
subparagraph (1), division (c) to read: 
(c) 
Use 
of vacation or 
sick 
leave, 
or 
both~ 
Public 
employees 
who 
donate 
bone 
marrow 
are 
eligible for 7 days of administrative leave for 
that 
purpose, 
and 
public 
employees 
who 
donate 
other tissues or organs are eligible for 30 days 
of 
administrative 
leave 
for 
that 
purpose. 
Administrative leave granted under this division 
may be used before sick leave and is in addition 
to 
any 
sick 
leave 
to 
which 
the 
employee 
is 
entitled; 
Sec. 5. 29-A MRSA §1301, sub-§8 is enacted to read: 
8. 
Organ and tissue donation. 
This subsection applies to 
organ donation under section 1402-A. 
A. 
Before 
issuing or 
renewing 
a 
driver's 
license, 
the 
Secretary of State shall read to the applicant 
a 
short 
statement on the opportunity to save a life through organ 
and tissue donation 
and shall provide 
the applicant 
an 
opportunity 
to 
become 
an 
organ 
or 
tissue 
donor. 
The 
applicant must be given a form on which to indicate whether 
the applicant intends to become a donor. 
B. 
Information regarding the opportunity to save a life 
through 
organ 
and 
tissue 
donation 
must 
be 
prominently 
displayed 
on 
driver's 
license 
information 
mailed 
to 
applicants or distributed at offices of the bureau and must 
be prominently displayed on posters in offices of the bureau. 
Sec. 6. 29-A MRSA §1354, sub-§6,~, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 
505, §15 and affected by §22, is amended to read: 
B. 
The Secretary of State shall develop and implement a 
standardized driver education curriculum that establishes 
minimum 
standards 
for 
instructional 
goals 
and 
learning 
objectives. 
Beginning January 1, 
2004, 
the 
standardized 
driver education curriculum must include a 30-minute segment 
on organ and tissue donation and transplantation. 
Sec. 7. 29-A MRSA §1402-A, sub-§§4, 5 and 6 are enacted to read: 
4. 
Anatomical gift coordination. 
In order to coordinate 
the 
donation 
of 
anatomical 
gifts 
and 
the 
receipt 
and 
transplantation of organs and tissues , 
the secretary of State 
shall perform the following duties. 
A. 
The 
Secretary of 
State 
shall 
modify 
its 
existing 
database system to maintain the Maine Organ Donor Registry, 
referred 
to 
in 
this 
section 
as 
"the 
registry." 
The 
Secretary of State shall include information on donors who 
have previously indicated their intention to donate through 
the office of the Secretary of State, those who indicate 
their intent to donate under this section, an advance health 
care directive pursuant to Title 18-A, Article 5, Part 8, 
the 
Uniform 
Anatomical 
Gift 
Act 
pursuant 
to Title 
22, 
chapter 710 or any other method that clearly indicates the 
intent of an adult donor to make an anatomical gift upon the 
occurrence of death. 
B. 
The 
Secretary of State shall establish 
a 
volunteer 
advisory 
committee 
to 
provide 
advice 
and 
information 
regarding anatomical gifts, public information programs and 
donor recognition programs. 
C. 
Information maintained in the registry must be 
made 
available 
through 
a 
publically 
accessible 
site 
on 
the 
Internet. designed to guard donor and family privacy, 
to 
federally 
designated 
organ 
procurement 
organizations 
as 
necessary for 
the coordination of receipt of 
anatomical 
gifts and coordination of transplantation of 
organs 
and 
tissues. 
D. 
The Secretary of State shall invite each hospital in the 
State to nominate individual donors or families for a "Gift 
of Life" award. 
The Secretary of State shall forward the 
names 
of 
persons 
to 
the 
Governor 
each 
year 
for 
commendation through the "Gift of Life" award for their 
generosity and humanitarian spirit. 
E. 
Notwithstanding Title 22, section 1711-C and any other 
provision of law to the contrary, 
a health care provider 
licensed in this State to provide primary health care shall 
provide 
information 
to 
a 
federally 
designated 
organ 
procurement 
organization 
regarding 
a 
patient 
who 
has 
indicated a willingness to become an organ donor under this 
section, Title 18-A, Article 5, Part 8 or Title 22, chapter 
if such information is provided in accordance with 
professional standards applicable to organ donation and if 
donor intent has not been overridden pursuant to Title 22, 
section 2911, subsection 2. 
5. 
Effect. 
An 
expression 
of 
willingness 
to 
make 
an 
anatomical gift under this section has the 
same effect as 
a 
designation under Title l8-A, Article 5, Part 8 or Title 22, 
chapter 710. 
Revocation or suspension of the right to drive 
under this chapter does not affect the expressed willingness of a 
person to make an anatomical gift under this section. 
6. 
Rulemaking. 
The Secretary of State shall adopt rules to 
implement this section. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section 
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A. 
Sec. 8. Effective date. 
This Act takes effect January 1, 2004. 
SUMMARY 
This 
bill 
addresses 
organ 
and 
tissue 
donation 
and 
transplantation. 
It adds a short segment on organ and tissue 
donation and transplantation to the driver's education curriculum 
and directs the Secretary of State's office to read to applicants 
for driver's licenses 
a 
short statement on organ and tissue 
donation and to provide an opportunity for 
the applicant to 
become a donor. 
It directs the Secretary of State to modify its 
existing database 
system 
to 
maintain 
the 
Maine 
Organ 
Donor 
Registry, to establish a volunteer advisory committee and to make 
registry 
information available 
to 
federally 
designated 
organ 
procurement 
organizations. 
The 
bill 
requires 
persons 
in 
possession of an advance health care directive to submit the 
directive 
to 
the 
Maine 
Organ 
Donor 
Registry. 
It 
provides 
rule-making authority for 
the 
Secretary of State. 
The bill 
contains the honor-the-intent law, a provision to make clear that 
donor-expressed 
intent 
takes 
precedence, 
and 
specifies 
the 
procedures under which a next of kin may override donor intent. 
The bill provides that public employees who donate bone marrow 
are eligible for 7 days of administrative leave for that purpose 
and public employees who are donors of other tissues and organs 
are 
eligible 
for 
days 
of 
administrative 
leave 
for 
that 
purpose. 
This administrative leave is in addition to any sick 
leave to which the employee is entitled. 
The bill contains an 
effective date of January 1, 2004.