By Attorney Jessica Fisher Greene
Act 90 of 2018 amended the Pennsylvania Probate Estates Fiduciaries code. This amendment addressed various health-related topics including, but not limited to, the right to dispose of a decedent’s remains; a new example form of the health care power of attorney and living will; and anatomical gifts. These updates to the health care power of attorney and living will documents were required to accommodate all of the changes due to vast advances in science.
The health care power of attorney is a legal document that enables a person, otherwise known as an “agent,” to make medical decisions for the creator of the document called the “principal.” The Living Will is a legal document that enables the creator to choose what treatment or procedures the creator will want if the creator of the document is permanently unconscious or at the end stage of a terminal medical condition. Typically, these two types of documents are combined into one form and separated into different parts of the document. Act 90 of 2018 significantly changed this combined form. The instructions are much longer and go into great explanation about organ donation. If you have previously marked that you want to donate your organs in your health care power of attorney and living will, it would be especially important for you to update your documents so that you can specify which organs you are comfortable donating. For example, do you want to donate your hands, facial tissue, limbs or other vascularized composite allografts (like, skin, bone, muscles, blood vessels)? In the alternative, organ donation may be limited to donation of traditional organs (like, heart, lung, liver, kidney), tissue, eyes or other parts of the body. If you are interested in organ donation after you have been declared dead, then the new form has you authorize the use of artificial support for a limited period of time in order to facilitate the donation. The document even notes that if someone decides to donate a hand, limb or facial tissue it may impact funeral arrangements and an open casket may not be possible.
If organ donor is designated on a Pennsylvania driver’s license, that designation authorizes donation of traditional organs and tissue and does not authorize the donation of vascularized composite allografts. Detailed information about donation can be found on the donate life Pennsylvania website https://donatelifepa.org/. If you want to donate vascularized composite allografts as well, it is important to note that in your documents and make sure that your decision maker is aware of that wish.
Advances in science have helped save so many more lives. The changes to these documents enable an individual to better understand their rights, choices, and the consequences of those choices. It has made the document a little longer, but it is broken down in a way that most people can understand to assist them to make the best choice for them and to better assist the Agent in making those difficult final decisions. If you are interested in updating these documents, feel free to contact Walters & Galloway, PLLC at 717-697-4700.
By Jessica F. Greene, CELA,* LL.M. in Elder Law
*Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation as authorized by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
