For 9-12 Educators in PA: New, Free Act 48-Approved Online Course in Organ Donation Education
Pennsylvania secondary educators now have access to a new, free, on-demand professional development course that makes it easier than ever to bring accurate, engaging lessons about organ and tissue donation into classrooms across the Commonwealth — exploring a meaningful, real-world topic that can inspire conversation, build awareness and help save lives.
The Lancaster-Lebanon IU13 Online Toolkit: Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness provides educators with free, four hours of Pennsylvania Act 48-approved continuing education while equipping them with classroom-ready lesson plans, activities and instructional resources aligned with Pennsylvania’s Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness (OTDA) curriculum.
Developed through a statewide collaboration led by the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health along with Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, the self-paced online course expands access to Pennsylvania’s expert-developed curriculum by allowing educators to complete training anytime, anywhere. The flexible format makes high-quality professional development more accessible while helping teachers prepare students to make an informed decision, with parental consent, about registering as an organ and tissue donor when they get their driver’s license.
Designed for 9-12 educators, the course is appropriate across all content areas in those grade levels. Participants who successfully complete the course will earn four Pennsylvania Act 48 continuing education hours.
Practical Resources for the Classroom
The course provides educators with the knowledge, confidence and instructional tools to teach one of today’s most important public health topics. Participants will learn to:
• Develop lesson plans on organ and tissue donation and transplantation for grades 9-12.
• Access downloadable classroom activities and educational resources.
• Facilitate informed classroom discussions.
• Explain the need for organ donors and the impact of the national transplant waiting list.
• Address common myths and misconceptions about donation.
• Differentiate between living and deceased donation.
• Describe the science of organ and tissue donation and transplantation, including advances in transplantation medicine and current medical practices.
Designed specifically for adult learners, the interactive online program features knowledge checks, quizzes, anatomical illustrations and downloadable teaching materials that educators can immediately incorporate into their classrooms. The curriculum also includes practical guidance for leading meaningful, age-appropriate classroom discussions, research projects and other student-centered learning experiences.
Building on Pennsylvania’s Leadership
Pennsylvania has been a national leader in organ and tissue donation education for more than three decades. The initiative began in 1994 with passage of the Governor Casey Act (Act 102), which established a comprehensive statewide effort to increase organ and tissue donation awareness. In 2018, Act 90 strengthened that commitment by requiring the development of a curriculum framework for organ and tissue donation education.
Since 1996, the OTDA Education Project has been a partnership between the Pennsylvania Department of Education and Lancaster-Lebanon IU13. The new eLearning course builds on that foundation by transforming the expert-developed curriculum into a flexible, scalable professional development experience that can reach more educators across the Commonwealth.
In addition to providing Act 48-approved continuing education, the course introduces educators to Pennsylvania’s OTDA Grant Program, which provides funding and support to help schools implement organ and tissue donation education initiatives. Together, these innovative statewide resources help schools expand access to high-quality donation education and prepare more students to make informed, evidence-based decisions.
The eLearning course was developed through a collaboration among the Pennsylvania Department of Education, Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13, the Pennsylvania Department of Health, Gift of Life Institute, Gift of Life Donor Program, Donate Life Pennsylvania and the Center for Organ Recovery & Education (CORE), with support for Pennsylvania’s broader Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness initiative from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Robert P. Casey Trust Fund.
To learn more, visit www.iu13.org/otda.
