Senate Bill 1197 Printer's Number 1477

PENNSYLVANIA, February 27 - (2) giving health care treatment instructions to

your health care agent or health care provider.

An advance health care directive is a written set of

instructions expressing your wishes for medical treatment.

NOTICE ABOUT ANATOMICAL DONATION

This document may also contain directions regarding

whether you wish to donate an organ, tissue or eyes. Under

Pennsylvania law, donating a part of the body for

transplantation or research is a voluntary act. You do not

have to donate an organ, tissue, eye or other part of the

body. However, it is important that you make your wishes

about anatomical donation known, just as it is important to

make your choices about end-of-life care known.

Surgeons have made great strides in the field of organ

donation and can now transplant hands, facial tissue and

limbs. A hand, facial tissue and a limb are examples of what

is known as a vascularized composite allograft. Under

Pennsylvania law, explicit and specific consent to donate

hands, facial tissue, limbs or other vascularized composite

allografts must be given. You may use this document to make

clear your wish to donate or not to donate hands, facial

tissue or limbs.

Under Pennsylvania law, the organ donor designation on

the driver's license authorizes the individual to donate what

we traditionally think of as organs (heart, lung, liver,

kidney) and tissue and does not authorize the individual to

donate hands, facial tissue, limbs or other vascularized

composite allografts.

Detailed information about anatomical donation, including

the procedure used to recover organs, tissues and eyes, can

20260SB1197PN1477 - 5 -

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30