Donate Life NYS
2023 Legislative Education Event
Mon., May 1 – Wed., May 3
9:00 am until 5:00 pm
Thank you for joining us for our annual Legislative Education event, when we educate lawmakers about important donation-relevant legislation being advanced in 2023.
Legislative Education Event Resources
Materials and Schedule
Note Takers: Submit Capitol Visit Summary Forms
Legislative Agenda
This year, we will be advocating for the passage of two pieces of legislation:
- Addition of “close friend” into New York State anatomical gift law’s list of decision-makers
In instances when a deceased individual has not documented their decision to make an anatomical gift, provisions contained within 2019’s New York Gift Act created a more inclusionary prioritized list of those who may authorize an anatomical gift on behalf of the decedent. The current legislation proposes to further expand that list and bring it into alignment with the rest of the nation by including an additional authorizer to this hierarchy of decision-makers: close friend.
New York is one of only seven states that do not include close friends in the classes of persons authorized to make an anatomical gift. The anatomical gift laws of forty-three other states as well as that of Washington D.C. contain language allowing a close friend or equivalent to make this decision. - Doorways to Donation Act of 2023: Electronic Health Records
In 2010, New York became the first state in the nation to pass legislation incorporating the opportunity to enroll in the Donate Life Registry into its voter registration application. Since then, Donate Life New York State and the legislature have continued to collaborated, pioneering numerous new and convenient opportunities for our residents to enroll as organ, eye, and tissue donors. These innovative ‘Doorways to Donation’ have generated over one million registrations to date.
The Doorways to Donation Act of 2023 continues this successful approach to addressing New York’s historically low donor registration rates by requiring every electronic health record (EHR) vendor to include and integrate components into their EHR products to allow patients to enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry.