Pa. considers updating organ transplant law

A measure in Pennsylvania’s Senate to update the 1994 law on organ donation has cleared a committee vote and now heads to the full chamber.

The long lag between revisions is partly responsible for the commonwealth’s organ transplant waiting list of more than 8,000 people, said sponsor Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, R-Montgomery.

“This will update Pennsylvania’s law and again put it on the forefront of both the nation and the world,” he said.

The proposal also provides for education about organ donation in high schools.

County coroners had spoken out against the measure, saying the proposed streamlined process for organ recovery could interfere with their work.

Greenleaf said an amendment to the bill addresses those concerns, giving coroners final say over whether organ recovery would impede a death investigation.