American Heart Association
The American Heart Association (AHA) is a non-profit organization in the United States that funds cardiovascular medical research, educates consumers on healthy living and fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. Originally formed in New York City in 1924 as the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease, it is currently headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The American Heart Association is a national voluntary health agency.
Uniform Anatomical Gift Act
The first Uniform Anatomical Gift Act was created after the first successful heart transplant in 1967; the operation was performed by Dr. Christiaan Barnard. In 1968, Congress approved of the UAGA and recommended that all states adopt it. The Act was the first legislation enacted by all states in United States to address the donation of organs, tissues, and eyes as gifts to someone who may be in need of an organ for survival. The UAGA was drafted in order to increase organ and blood supplies and donation and to protect patients in the United States. It replaced numerous state laws concerning transplantation and laws lacking a uniform procedure of organ donation and an inadequate process of becoming a donor.