North Dakotans on a waiting list for organ transplants could soon have thousands more potential donors.

Current law only allows a person to be designated as an organ donor on their driver's license, but Senate Bill 2112 would allow the designation also to be placed on state-issued identification cards if people request it. There are currently about 27,500 residents who hold state-issued identification cards.

The Senate Transportation Committee made quick work of the bill Thursday, giving it a unanimous "do pass" recommendation.

Sen. Richard Brown, R-Fargo, introduced the bill on behalf of Scott Allen, a Fargo man who doesn't drive, but holds a state identification card. Allen said he was pleased at the quick response to his bill.

"It just came out of the blue one day," Allen said of his idea to change the law.

Allen's parents, Clyde and Esther Allen, who live in Moorhead, Minn., made the trip to Bismarck with their son so he could testify at the committee.

"I am very pleased," Esther Allen said. "He brought this up totally on his own."

Esther Allen said she and her husband are organ donors and they were surprised to find out that the law didn't allow the designation to be placed on state ID cards.

Janelle Johnson, a lobbyist for Medcenter One, said there is a waiting list of 87,000 people nationwide for organ transplants.

"Any way we can fulfill those requests means more life for someone else," Johnson said.

There are 236,822 drivers in North Dakota who are listed as organ donors on their driver's license.

The bill will have to be voted on by the House and Senate before it can become law.

(Reach reporter Tom Rafferty at 223-8482 or tom.rafferty@bismarcktribune.com.)