HARRISBURG, PA — Pennsylvania is expanding organ and tissue donation education in secondary schools with a free online training course that gives educators four hours of Act 48 continuing education while providing classroom materials for students in grades 9 through 12.
The Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 Online Toolkit: Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness is a self-paced course developed through a collaboration involving the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health and Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13.
The program is designed for educators across all subject areas in grades 9 through 12. Participants who successfully complete it receive four Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education hours.
The course provides lesson plans, activities, and instructional resources aligned with Pennsylvania’s Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness curriculum. Topics include living and deceased donation, transplantation science, the need for organ donors, the national transplant waiting list, and common misconceptions surrounding donation.
Educators also receive guidance for classroom discussions, research projects, and other student activities. The online program incorporates quizzes, knowledge checks, anatomical illustrations, and downloadable teaching materials.
Pennsylvania’s Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Project dates to Act 102 of 1994, which created the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund and assigned state agencies responsibilities for promoting donation awareness. The state’s education program provides secondary-school educators with curriculum resources, professional development, and implementation grants.
The Pennsylvania Department of Education and Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 have operated the education project in partnership since 1996. Act 90 of 2018 subsequently expanded Pennsylvania’s organ and tissue donation framework, including funding for awareness programs in secondary schools.
The new course also introduces educators to Pennsylvania’s OTDA Grant Program, which provides funding and support for schools implementing organ and tissue donation education.
“I hope that this new training course for educators on organ and tissue donation will be used across the Commonwealth,” Health Secretary Debra Bogen stated. “When educators incorporate this information into their curricula, not only will students discover being a donor is a selfless act, but they can also learn the science behind it.”
The initiative includes participation from the Organ & Tissue Donation Awareness Program, Donate Life Pennsylvania, Gift of Life Institute, Gift of Life Donor Program, and the Center for Organ Recovery & Education. It is supported by the Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
The curriculum is intended in part to help students make informed decisions about organ and tissue donor registration when obtaining a driver’s license. Pennsylvanians younger than 18 require a parent or guardian’s signature to add the donor designation to a driver’s license, learner’s permit or photo identification card.
More information about the course is available at www.iu13.org/otda.
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