§ 36-2-14-19 — Cornea donations

Indiana § 36-2-14-19

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Title 36: LOCAL GOVERNMENT
• Art. 2: GOVERNMENT OF COUNTIES GENERALLY
• Ch. 14: County Coroner

Text

(a) As used in this section, "cornea" includes
corneal tissue.
(b) As used in this section, "decedent" means a person described in
section 6(a)(1) through 6(a)(5) of this chapter.
(c) As used in this section, "eye bank" means a nonprofit
corporation:
(1) organized under Indiana law;
(2) exempt from federal income taxation under Section 501 of the
Internal Revenue Code; and
(3) whose purposes include obtaining, storing, and distributing
corneas that are to be used for corneal transplants or for other
medical or medical research purposes.
(d) If under section 6(e) of this chapter the coroner requires an
autopsy to be performed upon a decedent, the coroner may authorize
the removal of one (1) or both of the decedent's corneas for donation to
an eye bank for transplantation, if the following conditions exist:
(1) The decedent's corneas are not necessary for successful
completion of the autopsy.
(2) The decedent's corneas are not necessary for use as evidence.
(3) Removal of the decedent's corneas will not alter the
postmortem facial appearance of the decedent.
(4) A representative of the eye bank, authorized by the trustees of
the eye bank to make requests for corneas, has done the
following:
(A) Within six (6) hours after the time of death, made a
reasonable attempt to:
(i) contact any of the persons listed in the order of priority
specified in IC 29-2-16.1-8; and
(ii) inform the person of the effect of the removal of the
decedent's corneas on the physical appearance of the
decedent.
(B) Submitted to the coroner:
(i) a written request for the donation by the coroner of
corneas of the decedent subject to autopsy under section 6(e)
of this chapter; and
(ii) a written certification that corneas donated under this
section are intended to be used only for cornea transplant.
(5) The removal of the corneas and their donation to the eye bank
will not alter a gift made by:
(A) the decedent when alive; or
(B) any of the persons listed in the order of priority specified in
IC 29-2-16.1-8;
to an agency or organization other than the eye bank making the
request for the donation.
(6) The coroner, at the time the removal and donation of a
decedent's corneas is authorized, does not know of any objection
to the removal and donation of the decedent's corneas made by:
(A) the decedent, as evidenced in a written document executed
by the decedent when alive; or
(B) any of the persons listed in the order of priority specified in
IC 29-2-16.1-8.
(e) A person, including a coroner and an eye bank and the eye
bank's representatives, who exercises reasonable care in complying
with subsection (d)(6) is immune from civil liability arising from
cornea removal and donation allowed under this section.
(f) A person who authorizes the donation of a decedent's corneas
may not be charged for the costs related to the donation. The recipient
of the donation is responsible for the costs related to the donation.

Legislative History

As added by P.L.36-1993, SEC.6. Amended by P.L.147-2007, SEC.19; P.L.193-2018, SEC.5.