Agency works to
increase Hawaii’s
low supply of
organ donors

By Mike Yuen
Star-Bulletin

Hospitals should quickly report all deaths and impending deaths to the Organ Donor Center of Hawaii as part of a program to help isle residents who are awaiting life-saving organ and tissue transplants, a legislative agency says.

Hawaii has one of the worst supplies of donors. There were only six donors of "solid organs" -- heart, lungs and kidneys, for example -- out of about 4,000 deaths during the first six months of this year, the Legislative Reference Bureau said in a report to lawmakers yesterday.

Besides a "required referral system," the agency also urges that:

A $500 fine be imposed each time a hospital fails to promptly report an impending death or death.

A $1 surcharge be tacked onto each driver's license application or renewal to establish an organ and tissue education special fund.

The lieutenant governor spearhead an ongoing public education program about the benefits of organ and tissue transplants in giving recipients a better life.

Robyn Kaufman, executive director of the Organ Donor Center of Hawaii, one of 63 certified organ procurement organizations in the United States, hailed the recommendations.

Lt. Gov. Mazie Hirono, she said, is already an advocate of organ and tissue transplants.

And the bureau's push for a required referral system comes six months after the federal government began requiring mandatory organ and tissue referrals from hospitals participating in Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement programs, Kaufman said.

Anything that can significantly reduce the waiting list for organ and tissue transplants would be a major step forward, she added. "And public education is critical."

Senate Health Chairwoman Suzanne Chun Oakland (D, Liliha) and House Health Chairman Alex Santiago (D, Pupukea) said they intend to introduce legislation that reflects the bureau's recommendations. The measure will be heard, said Santiago, who has taken an interest in organ donations.

In January, there were 167 Hawaii residents awaiting transplants, and 159 needed new kidneys, according to statistics compiled by the Hawaii donor center. Isle residents most in need were of Filipino, Japanese and mixed ancestry.

Donor rates in Hawaii and other states have remained low because it is customary for hospitals to obtain consent from surviving relatives, who often override their kin's consent, the report said.

"The reason for obtaining this consent is partly historical custom that has developed over the years when transplantation was an uncommon medical procedure and the historical practice of relatives having control over the disposition of the deceased's body," the bureau said, adding that the practice continues because doctors don't want to appear callous.