By: Lisa Smith
CINCINNATI — It’s a very grown-up question facing teenage drivers: Do you want to be an organ donor?
The topic is part of the curriculum in high schools across Ohio, due to a state law which requires organ donation education.
They started the curriculum at Dater High School before the law took effect.
“Organ donation is something that a lot of kids don’t really know about,” Jennifer Franzoi, lead social studies teacher at Dater, said.
Gina Horner with LifeCenter Organ Donor Network goes into schools across the Tri-State to make the topic approachable.
“We’re really talking about life and hope, rather than things that are really morbid, which is talking about death,” Horner said.
The information that students get about organ donation is just the beginning. The idea is for the conversation to continue at home.
“They need to go home and talk to their families about it,” Horner said. “And it’s really about a family discussion.”
Under the new law, the class can be taught by teachers or a local organ donation organization. The law was spearheaded by a teenager from Athens who received an organ donation and wanted to increase awareness.
