Organ donor cleanup bill heads to Nevada Senate floor

CARSON CITY — A bill designed to increase the number of organ donors in Nevada was passed Tuesday by a Nevada Senate committee and was on its way to the Senate floor.

Senate Bill 206 was amended and approved by the Senate Transportation Committee. The measure, sponsored by state Sen. Ben Kieckhefer, R-Reno, would change the forms and procedures for signing up to be an organ donor.

Under existing law, people are asked, yes or no, if they want to be an organ donor when they get or renew a driver’s license or identification card at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Also, unless donors reaffirm their wishes to be a donor when they renew their license, they are automatically removed from the registry.

SB206 would change the “no” designation to “not at this time,” a move organ donation advocates say could make a huge difference for families faced with a decision after a tragic death.

It would also automatically keep people who say “yes” on the registry unless they specifically ask to be removed.

The bill was amended to remove provisions that would have made it more difficult for eye and tissue bank facilities to recover, test, process, store and distribute tissue.

Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.