Summary — HB 530: Advocacy for Bone Marrow Education and Registration
Also cited as the "Knight‑LeCount Advocacy for Marrow Education and Registration Act" (KLAMER Act)
Status & Timing
- Bill Number: HB 530
- Title: Advocacy for Bone Marrow Education and Registration
- Introduced: Nov. 12, 2024 (bill record shows earlier related filings in 2023)
- Reported Favorably (committee) / Effective: upon enactment (per text of the bill)
Purpose / Intent
- To raise public awareness about bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) donation and to encourage residents to register with national or local bone marrow donor registries (e.g., the National Marrow Donor Program “Be The Match” registry).
- Promote informed decision‑making by providing medically accurate information about donation procedures, risks, and costs.
Key Provisions
- Designates November of each year as “Marrow Donation Awareness Month.”
- Directs the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) to prepare and make available on its website a public service announcement (PSA) that:
- Contains medically accurate information on bone marrow and PBSC donation and transplantation.
- Is sufficient to allow an individual to make an informed decision about joining a marrow registry.
- Requires DHHS to provide an internet link to the PSA to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
- Requires the DMV to:
- Post the DHHS PSA link on the DMV website.
- Broadcast the PSA on monitors in driver’s license office locations statewide.
Background details included in bill preamble (informational)
- Registration process typically involves an online form and a cheek‑swab kit; a match may lead to either bone marrow donation (outpatient surgical procedure under anesthesia) or PBSC donation (non‑surgical, with injections of filgrastim over several days and apheresis).
- Medical and most nonmedical costs for donation are covered by the registry or donor insurance; donors typically bear only time away from work.
Who/What Is Affected
- State agencies: DHHS and DMV (responsible for hosting/airing PSA and posting links).
- General public: motorists and other residents who use DMV services and the DHHS website — target audience for increased education and potential registry sign‑ups.
- Patients with blood cancers, sickle cell disease, and other disorders who may benefit from increased donor availability.
Fiscal and Administrative Impact
- Expected to be minimal: primary costs relate to producing/hosting the PSA and displaying it on DMV monitors (staff time, web hosting, modest AV/display costs). No new program funding or grant authority is created.
- No regulatory changes to donor registration processes are mandated.
Procedural Notes
- The bill is primarily informational/educational in nature (designation of a month and interagency PSA duties).
- Effective upon becoming law (per bill language in the versions provided).
Net effect: a low‑cost, state‑led public‑education initiative intended to increase awareness of marrow/PBSC donation and to boost registry participation, potentially improving matching opportunities for patients in need.
