Posted on March 17, 2009
Chapter 362 (Hannon): This chapter provides an option to register and enroll in the New York State Donate Life Registry on statewide application forms for voter registration. Thousands of people die every year waiting for donated organs. In New York alone, as demand for organs outpaces supply, nearly 9,000 people are on a waiting list for donated organs. Recognizing that New Yorkers deserve a better opportunity to receive the organs and tissues their health requires, this chapter reduces barriers for individuals to become organ donors by allowing for convenient registration and enrollment in the Donate Life Registry for the hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers who fill out voter registration applications every year. Notably, one organ donor can save or enhance the lives of up to fifty people through an organ or tissue donation that may restore eyesight, help fight infections in burn patients or delay the onset of end-stage organ failure. Signed by Governor Paterson on July 21, 2008, this chapter becomes effective January 1, 2009. (S.7058/A.10301)
