Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates (KODA) and Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks’ Trust For Life (KCCCTFL) are thrilled to
announce that Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin signed Senate Bill 77 (SB77) into law on Tuesday, March 5, which expands the state’s organ and tissue donor registration to its single sign-on system next January 1.
Sponsored by Senator Julie Raque Adams, starting in 2020 Kentuckians will have the option of registering as organ donors when they log on to the Kentucky Online Gateway website at http://bit.ly/kyonlinegateway, a repository for state services. Currently most residents register as organ donors when they renew their driver’s licenses with their Circuit Court Clerk. Beginning this May those licenses will expire after eight years versus the original four years. Organ donor advocates, notably KODA and KCCCTFL, were concerned this would reduce the number of state residents who sign up to be organ and tissue donors. Governor Bevin said he was honored to sign a law that will save lives.
Certainly the necessity for, and human impact of, this bill was top of mind for legislatures as the very brief timeline to passage illuminates. Just introduced into the Senate on January 10 of this year, it took less than three months for Governor Bevin to sign. “We are thrilled the Governor has officially made SB77 part of Kentucky law,” says Shelley Snyder, Executive Director of the Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks’ Trust For Life. “With more than 114,000 women, men and children awaiting life-saving organ and tissue transplants, we hope all states will find a way to make similar legislation happen.”
Kentucky Organ Donor Affiliates mission is to provide organ and tissues to those in need and to maintain a profound respect for those who gave. For more information visit kyorgandonor.org. The mission of the Kentucky Circuit Court Clerks’ Trust For Life is to inform, educate, and encourage Kentuckians to register as organ and tissue donors to save lives. For more information visit trustforlife.org. These two nonprofits partner closely to educate and improve the lives of Kentuckians through organ donation and transplantation.