News

Colorado proposes new donor law

Jacey Wood
Staff Reporter

Each day citizens who need an organ transplant die in this country because the organs they need are not available.

If a proposed law in Colorado passes it would broaden the pool of potential donors and help save some of those lives.

Colorado has proposed that people become organ donors by default in an effort to address the need.

The Colorado bill being considered would change the process of determining whether citizens become donors by having it posted on drivers licenses and ID’s cards to having all citizens be donors unless they indicate they want to opt out.

“In Europe it is much like this where all people donate unless they choose not,” Simon Brown, a NIACC student originally from Ireland, said about his country’s efforts to meet the need for organs for transplant.

He said European countries have adopted the idea of default organ donations for some time now.

“The specific laws do vary from country to country but it is an over all idea for most,” Brown said.

Although the idea will be most beneficial to the National Organization of Organ Donation, states have not accepted the “presumed consent” way of organ donation because of concerns about making such a personal decision automatic.

There are benefits to this proposed method of organ donation. The change would make it easier for people already willing to donate their organs.

The bill for the Colorado “presumed consent,” as of press time, had not yet been passed. However, the overall acceptance of the law from citizens is reported to be good.

“As someone who lives in an area that has this idea, I think it is very helpful because of the need of organ donation,” Brown said.

The “presumed consent” law aims to broaden the number of available organs for transplant and save more lives than the current system of donation used by most states.