Report Title:

Blood Safety Act

 

Description:

Requires blood, semen, tissue, or organs to be tested for blood-borne viral infections. Except in medical emergency, prohibits use unless no evidence of infection is confirmed. Requires facilities to register with DOH. Requires doctors to obtain patient consent to blood transfusion before surgery.

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

393

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to testing for blood-borne infections.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 325, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new part to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"Part    . BLOOD SAFETY

§325-A Definitions. As used in this part, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

"Designated donation" means the donor's own blood for exclusive use, or the blood, semen, tissue, or organ of another individual as donated for a specific individual use, or for storage to be held for a later specified use.

"Donor" means the individual who voluntarily gives blood, semen, tissue, or organs for the individual's future use or for a recipient in need of blood, semen, tissue, or organs.

"Human immunodeficiency virus" includes any other identified causative agents of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

"Medically appropriate purpose" means use of donated blood, semen, tissue, or organs to be determined by the department of health, laboratories and research facilities, educational institutions, health care providers, blood banks, plasma centers, or organ donor centers that procure, process, distribute, or use human body parts.

§325-B Testing of donations. Subject to section 325-16, any public and private facility or organization that accepts directly from the donor any blood, semen, tissue, or organ donation, with or without recompense to the donor and for any purpose, shall test or have tested the blood, semen, tissue, or organ for evidence of viral infections known to be blood-borne, including but not limited to the human immunodeficiency virus and the hepatitis C virus.

§325-C Designated donation. (a) Any individual desiring to make a designated donation shall inform the accepting facility of the donor's intent to make a designated donation. The person in charge of the accepting facility shall accept a designated donation and ensure that the donor's blood, semen, tissue, or organ shall be held and used exclusively for the use specified by the donor. The accepting facility may charge reasonable fees to cover the administrative and storage costs for those designated donations.

(b) Any blood, semen, tissue, or organ donated for designated use under subsection (a) shall be reserved for use by the designated recipient. Any individual desiring to make a designated donation shall be notified and shall give consent upon donation that, thirty days prior to the expiration date of the donation, but not less than thirty days from the date of the donation if it has not been used, the donation may be used for any other medically appropriate purpose. The individual donor shall be notified              days prior to the use of the donation for a medically appropriate purpose.

§325-D Prohibited use; when. Except in cases of bona fide medical emergency, blood, semen, tissue, or organs may not be used in any case until it has been confirmed that the specimen to be used does not evidence any viral infection known to be blood-borne, including, but not limited to, the human immunodeficiency virus and the hepatitis C virus, unless the recipient, or the recipient's legal representative, signs a waiver providing the recipient assumes all liability for becoming infected with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome antibodies, the human immunodeficiency virus, or the hepatitis C virus if infection occurs as a result of the use by the recipient and that the recipient releases the facility or organization providing the blood, semen, tissue, or organ from all liability for the infection.

§325-E Facility registration. The department of health shall establish a registry of all blood, tissue, organ, or sperm banks operating in the State. All blood, tissue, organ, or sperm banks operating in this State shall register with the department of health prior to the opening of a facility and reregister prior to May 1 annually thereafter. Any person, hospital, clinic, corporation, partnership, or other legal entity that operates a blood, tissue, organ, or sperm bank in the State and fails to register with the department pursuant to this section shall be subject to a fine of $10,000 per occurrence.

§325-F Disclosure for elective surgery. (a) Physicians an surgeons shall explain to each elective surgery patient the probability of requiring a blood transfusion during the patient's surgery and the positive and negative aspects of autologous blood options, including intraoperative and autologous transfusions, blood from relatives and friends, and blood products from blood banks.

(b) Prior to the scheduled date of elective surgery, the physician or surgeon shall obtain a signed consent from the patient stating that the explanation required in subsection (a) has been made and that the patient consents to any needed blood transfusion.

(c) The failure of a physician or surgeon to comply with this section shall constitute unprofessional conduct.

§325-G Rules. The department of health may adopt rules under chapter 91 to implement this chapter."

SECTION 2. In codifying the new sections added by section 1 of this Act, the revisor of statutes shall substitute appropriate section numbers for the letters used in designating the new sections in this Act.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval and shall be repealed on June 30,2004.

INTRODUCED BY:

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