HB 5233 amends West Virginia’s Anatomical Gift Act to add a new framework for “living anatomical gifts,” meaning the donation of a human body part before death for transplantation or therapy. The bill expands and clarifies definitions used in the statute, including terms such as donor, prospective donor, procurement organization, tissue bank, and living anatomical gift, and it specifies who may make an anatomical gift before death. Under the bill, a living anatomical gift for transplantation or therapy may be made only by the donor, and only if the donor is an adult or a minor who is emancipated or at least 16 years old; parents, guardians, agents, the state, and medical power of attorney holders may not make a living anatomical gift on behalf of another person.
The bill also sets out the methods by which a donor may make an anatomical gift, including designation on a driver’s license, identification card, or hunting/fishing license, a will, a signed donor card or other record, a donor registry entry, or certain witnessed communications during terminal illness or injury. It further provides that a gift indicated on a license remains valid even if the license is later revoked, suspended, expired, or canceled, and that a gift made by will is effective regardless of probate. For living donations, the bill requires express written informed consent containing specific certifications and information, including disclosure of risks and long-term effects, confirmation of the donor’s mental competence, identification of the donor, a medical opinion about the effect on the recipient, and proof that the donor received information at least 24 hours before making the gift.
The bill’s impact would be to update state law governing organ, tissue, and eye donation by creating more detailed procedures for living donation and tightening the consent requirements for those donations. It would affect donors, recipients, hospitals, transplant programs, organ procurement organizations, eye banks, tissue banks, physicians, physician assistants, and other entities involved in the recovery and transplantation process. It also reinforces that living anatomical gifts are limited to the donor’s own decision, which may reduce ambiguity about surrogate or third-party authority in this area.
The overall sentiment appears neutral to supportive, with the bill presented as a procedural and definitional update to existing donation law rather than a controversial policy shift. The bill text and note indicate its purpose is to establish procedures and requirements for making a living anatomical gift, suggesting a focus on clarity, informed consent, and medical safeguards. No committee debate or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented opposition or support in the available materials.
The main potential point of contention is the balance between facilitating living donation and imposing stricter consent requirements. The bill’s requirement for express written informed consent, a 24-hour advance information period, and medical findings about donor risk and recipient suitability could be viewed as protective safeguards, but also as additional procedural hurdles. Another possible issue is the categorical prohibition on parents, guardians, agents, and state actors making living anatomical gifts on behalf of another person, which may limit flexibility in unusual medical or family situations.
HB 5233 would amend West Virginia Code §16-19-3, §16-19-4, and §16-19-5 in the Anatomical Gift Act to create and regulate the concept of a living anatomical gift. It would narrow who may authorize a living donation, limit living gifts for transplantation or therapy to the donor personally, and require express written informed consent with specified disclosures and certifications. The bill would affect the legal authority of donors, minors, parents, guardians, agents, and health care and procurement entities involved in organ, tissue, and eye donation.