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Bill would allow organ-recovery vehicles to operate with flashing lights
KEITH ARNOLD
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 12, 2024
Supporters of a bill in the Ohio House of Representatives say they believe more lives could be saved by successful organ transplants were the state to allow for dedicated organ-recovery vehicles to operate with flashing lights and sirens.
Timothy Snyder, vice president of operations for the Nationwide Organ Recovery Transport Alliance, told members of the Transportation Committee this week that the existing EMS system upon which surgeons and patients in need of organ transplant rely is already stretched.
“Organ transport is a secondary mission behind 911 emergencies,” he said during a hearing. “There are increasing incidents of organ teams standing at the hospital (emergency room) with a heart or lungs in a cooler and the ambulance was called away to a 911 emergency, causing delay and some organs to be rendered non-transplantable.”
Rep. Joe Miller of Amherst said current law allows only ambulances to move organs, tissues and medical procurement teams with the use of lights and sirens.
The Democrat proposed House Bill 224 with former Rep. Mary Lightbody, D-Westerville, to authorize the use of yellow flashing lights and sirens on a dedicated organ recovery vehicle, or DORV.
Not just any vehicle can become a DORV, Miller said in previous testimony, noting that all of the following stipulations must be fulfilled:
• The vehicle is dedicated to or contracted with an organ procurement organization;
• It is clearly labeled with the words “Organ Recovery Vehicle;”
• It is used for transporting human organs; and
• The vehicle is operated by a qualified driver.
“It is explicitly stated in the bill that the driver successfully completes the emergency vehicle operations course approved by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or an equivalent course to be approved by the state Board of Emergency Medical, Fire and Transportation Services,” the lawmaker said. “In addition, the driver must have at least three years of experience in the use and operation of emergency lights and sirens.”
He cited a recent Lifeline of Ohio Impact Report, which reported that more than 105,000 people statewide were waiting for life-saving organ transplants.
The report noted there were 2,715 candidates on the organ waiting list and that every 48 hours, an Ohioan dies waiting for an organ transplant.
Miller said more than 3,500 Ohioans have died waiting for a donated organ during the past 10 years.
“In part these statistics demonstrate the need for more organs for transplantation, but beyond this need, safely and effectively getting organs to their candidates once the organs are available is also critically important,” he said.
HB 224 would prohibit a motorist’s failure to stop for and yield to a moving DORV using flashing lights and sirens by adding these vehicles to existing law that requires drivers to stop and yield to public safety and coroner’s vehicles, according to analysis of the bill.
Additionally, the bill would prohibit a motorist’s failure to change lanes or proceed with caution around a stationary DORV with lights activated in accordance with the state’s Move Over Law.
Miller said his office was contacted by a representative of Snyder’s group to alert the lawmaker about situations in which surgeons have left the hospital to retrieve an organ only to find that the ambulance had been dispatched to an emergency call.
“Once an organ has been procured, it can only last outside of the body for a short time, leaving surgeons to scramble to call taxis, Ubers or Lyfts,” Miller recounted. “As we all know from taking transportation like this, drivers do not always take the most efficient route nor are they equipped to transport these life-saving materials.”
Five House members have co-sponsored the bill, which awaits further consideration by the committee.
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