PRESS RELEASE
For more information, contact:
Annie Richter, Public Relations Manager
Phone: 314.428.4373 x 107

New Law Allows First-Person Consent for Eye, Organ and Tissue Donation
Columbia, Mo. (July 16, 2008) – Gov. Matt Blunt has signed legislation establishing first-person consent for persons wishing to become eye, organ and tissue donors. Senate Bill 1139, also known as the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gifts Act (UAGA) will go into effect August 28, 2008.

Under the revsed UAGA, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services "shall establish a first person consent organ and tissue donor reigstry. Any individual who agrees to have his or her name in the registry has given full legal consent to the donation of any of his or her organs or tissues upon death and as recorded in the registry."

In addition to the establishment of a first-person donation registry, the UAGA also facilitates donation for persons who did not make a donation choice during their lifetime by adding additional representatives to make the donation decision. An individual's power of attorney and adult grandchildren will now be able to make a decision regarding donation for an individual.

"The aim of the UAGA is not to make it much easier to become a donor, but to help ensure that all people who do want to donate their eyes, organs and tissues are legally advised to do so," said Dr. Ron Walkenbach, Chair of the Governor's Organ Donation Advisory Committee.

Heartland Lions Eye Banks is a program of the Missouri Lions Eye Research Foundation, a statewide 501(c)3 corporation based out of Columbia, Mo., with the mission to preserve and restore eyesight through the work of its community programs and eye bank operations. The Foundaton's programs include: Amblyopia Prevention Screening, Eye Care Assistance, Glaucoma Detection Screening, Eyeglass Recycling, Heartland Lions Eye Banks, and support of ocular research.

###