Sec. 692A.020. GLENDA DAWSON DONATE LIFE-TEXAS REGISTRY; EDUCATION PROGRAM

(a) The department shall contract with a nonprofit organization to maintain a statewide donor registry, to be known as the Glenda Dawson Donate Life-Texas Registry.

(b) The nonprofit organization administering the registry must include representatives from each organ procurement organization in this state.

(c) The department shall require the nonprofit organization with which the department has contracted to administer the statewide donor registry to establish and maintain a statewide Internet-based registry of organ, tissue, and eye donors.

(d) The Department of Public Safety at least monthly shall electronically transfer to the nonprofit organization under contract with the department the name, date of birth, driver's license number, most recent address, and any other relevant information in the possession of the Department of Public Safety for any person who indicates on the person's driver's license application under Section 521.401, Transportation Code, that the person would like to make an anatomical gift.

(e) The contract between the department and the nonprofit organization administering the registry must require the organization to:

(1) make information obtained from the Department of Public Safety under Subsection (d) available to procurement organizations;

(2) allow potential donors to submit information in writing directly to the organization for inclusion in the Internet-based registry;

(3) maintain the Internet-based registry in a manner that allows procurement organizations to immediately access organ, tissue, and eye donation information 24 hours a day, seven days a week through electronic and telephonic methods; and

(4) protect the confidentiality and privacy of the individuals providing information to the Internet-based registry, regardless of the manner in which the information is provided.

(f) Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (e)(3) or this subsection, the Department of Public Safety, the nonprofit organization under contract to administer the registry, or a procurement organization may not sell, rent, or otherwise share any information provided to the Internet-based registry. A procurement organization may share any information provided to the registry with an organ procurement organization or a health care provider or facility providing medical care to a potential donor as necessary to properly identify an individual at the time of donation.

(g) The Department of Public Safety, the nonprofit organization under contract with the department to administer the registry, or the procurement organizations may not use any demographic or specific data provided to the Internet-based registry for any fund-raising activities. Data may only be transmitted from the selected organization to procurement organizations through electronic and telephonic methods using secure, encrypted technology to preserve the integrity of the data and the privacy of the individuals providing information.

(h) In each office authorized to issue driver's licenses or personal identification certificates, the Department of Public Safety shall make available educational materials developed by the nonprofit organization administering the registry.

(i) The Department of Public Safety shall remit to the comptroller the money collected under Sections 521.421(g) and 521.422(c), Transportation Code, as provided by those subsections. A county assessor-collector shall remit to the comptroller any money collected under Section 502.1745, Transportation Code, as provided by that section. Money remitted to the comptroller in accordance with those sections that is appropriated to the department shall be disbursed to the nonprofit organization administering the registry under this section under the terms of the contract between the department and the organization to pay the costs of:

(1) maintaining, operating, and updating the Internet-based registry and establishing procedures for an individual to be added to the registry;

(2) designing and distributing educational materials for prospective donors as required under this section; and

(3) providing education under this chapter.

(j) The department shall require the nonprofit organization selected to administer the registry to submit an annual written report to the department that includes:

(1) the number of donors listed on the Internet-based registry;

(2) changes in the number of donors listed on the registry;

(3) the demographic characteristics of listed donors, to the extent the characteristics may be determined from information provided on donor registry forms submitted by donors to the organization; and

(4) an accounting of the use of the money disbursed under Subsection (i) for the administration of the registry.

(k) To the extent funds are available and as part of the donor registry program, the department may allocate funds to the nonprofit organization administering the registry pursuant to the contract to educate residents about anatomical gifts. The education provided under this section shall include information about:

(1) the laws governing anatomical gifts, including Subchapter Q, Chapter 521, Transportation Code, Chapter 693, and this chapter;

(2) the procedures for becoming an organ, eye, or tissue donor or donee; and

(3) the benefits of organ, eye, or tissue donation.

(l) In contracting for the registry program, the department shall solicit broad-based input reflecting recommendations of all interested groups, including representatives of patients, providers, ethnic groups, and geographic regions.

(m) The department may require the nonprofit organization administering the registry to:

(1) implement a training program for all appropriate Department of Public Safety and Texas Department of Transportation employees on the benefits of organ, tissue, and eye donation and the procedures for individuals to be added to the Internet-based registry; and

(2) conduct the training described by Subdivision (1) on an ongoing basis for new employees.

(n) The department may require the nonprofit organization administering the registry to develop a program to educate health care providers and attorneys in this state about anatomical gifts.

(o) The department shall require the nonprofit organization administering the registry to encourage:

(1) attorneys to provide organ donation information to clients seeking advice for end-of-life decisions;

(2) medical and nursing schools in this state to include mandatory organ donation education in the schools' curricula; and

(3) medical schools in this state to require a physician in a neurology or neurosurgery residency program to complete an advanced course in organ donation education.

(p) The nonprofit organization administering the registry may not:

(1) charge any fee for costs related to the operation and maintenance of the registry, except as agreed in the contract with the department; or

(2) use the registry to solicit voluntary donations of money from a registrant.

(q) Except as provided by Subsection (p), the nonprofit organization administering the registry may accept voluntary donations of money and perform fund-raising on behalf of the registry for the purpose of supporting registering donors.

Added by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 186 , Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2009. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 554 , Sec. 1, eff. January 1, 2012.