26:2H-12.59 Online brochure relative to bone marrow donation.

1. a. The Commissioner of Health shall prepare an online brochure for display on the Internet website of the Department of Health, based upon information derived from the National Marrow Donor Program, or NMDP, which may be downloaded by physicians and utilized by the commissioner for the purposes of subsection c. of this section, and shall be designed to inform patients of the option to become a bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell, or PBSC, donor by registering with the NMDP and to answer common questions about bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell, or PBSC, donation.

b. The brochure shall describe:

(1) the health benefits to the community from making a bone marrow or PBSC donation through the NMDP;

(2) how to register with the NMDP;

(3) the procedures for making a bone marrow or PBSC donation through the NMDP, including notice that there is no charge to the donor or the donor's family for making the donation;

(4) the circumstances and procedures by which a patient may receive a transfusion of the patient's previously donated blood; and

(5) any other aspects of bone marrow or PBSC donation that the commissioner deems appropriate for the purposes of this act.

c. The commissioner, within the limits of resources available to the Department of Health for this purpose, shall seek to promote awareness among physicians and the general public in this State about the option to become a bone marrow or PBSC donor. In doing so, the commissioner shall consult with at least the following: the Medical Society of New Jersey, the Institute of Medicine and Public Health of New Jersey, the NMDP, and other organizations that are seeking to increase bone marrow and PBSC donation among various ethnic groups within the State in need of these donations.

L.2010, c.61, s.1; amended 2012, c.17, s.210.