ORGAN ALLOCATION: AZ Gov. Signs In-State Priority Bill
Arizona Gov. Jane Hull (R) signed a bill yesterday that gives state residents first priority to organs donated locally, the Arizona Daily Star reports. "Critics of the measure, HB 2269," argued that as insurers sometimes move patients to another state for treatment, "a more seriously ill Arizonan elsewhere could be forced to wait." But Hull said the law will simply codify the state's current organ distribution system, which looks to be threatened by new federal regulations scheduled to take effect in October. She said, "[E]nacting this law will not alter the fact that too many people are dying while awaiting a transplant. This law does not address the insufficient supply of donated organs. We must continue to find effective ways to educate and encourage people to become organ donors" (Burstein, 5/4).
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