§ 4211 — Cadavers; unclaimed; delivery to schools for study

§ 4211. Cadavers; unclaimed; delivery to schools for study. 1. Except\nas hereinafter provided, and subject to the conditions specified in this\narticle, the director or person in charge of any hospital, institution,\nmorgue or other place for bodies of deceased persons not interred or\notherwise finally disposed of, and every funeral director, undertaker or\nother person having in his or her lawful possession, any body of a\ndeceased person for keeping or burial, shall deliver every body of a\ndeceased person in his or her possession, charge, custody or control not\nplaced therein by any person, agency or organization for keeping, burial\nor other lawful disposition to:\n (a) any medical college, school or institute including chiropractic\ncolleges registered by the regents of the university of the state of New\nYork as maintaining a proper standard;\n (b) any university within the state authorized by law to confer\ndegrees of doctor of medicine or doctor of dental surgery;\n (c) any other college or school incorporated under the laws of the\nstate of New York for the purpose of teaching medicine, anatomy or\nsurgery to those on whom the degree of doctor of medicine has been\nconferred;\n (d) any university within the state of New York having a medical\npreparatory or medical postgraduate course of instruction; or\n (e) any college, school or institute maintaining a mortuary science\nprogram that has either been approved by the department or holds a\ncertificate of accreditation from an accrediting organization recognized\nby the department pursuant to article thirty-four of this chapter,\nprovided, however, that such bodies remain unclaimed by any of the\naforementioned institutions. Any college, school or institute\nmaintaining a mortuary science program may only claim and utilize such\nbodies for anatomical and embalming instruction purposes.\n 2. The professors and teachers in every university, college, school or\ninstitute hereinbefore specified may receive the body of a deceased\nperson delivered or released to the university, college, school or\ninstitute, as herein provided, for the purposes of medical, anatomical\nand surgical science, anatomic embalming, and study.\n 3. No body of a deceased person shall be delivered or released to or\nreceived by, any university, college or school or institute.\n (a) if, within forty-eight hours after death it is desired for\ninterment or other lawful disposition by relatives and in the counties\nof Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Madison and Cortland, by relatives or\nfriends, or,\n (b) if prior to his or her death, the person shall have expressed a\ndesire that his or her body be interred or otherwise lawfully disposed\nof, is carrying an identification card upon his or her person indicating\nhis or her opposition to the dissection or autopsy of his or her body,\nor,\n (c) if the deceased person is known to have a relative whose place of\nresidence is known or can be ascertained after reasonable and diligent\ninquiry.\n 3-a. (a) In a city having a population of one million or more, no body\nof a deceased person shall be delivered or released to or received by,\nany university, college, school or institute, including any mortuary\nschool unless:\n (i) the person authorized to consent to make an anatomical gift with\nrespect to the decedent under article forty-three of this chapter makes\nsuch an anatomical gift that would encompass such delivery or release;\n (ii) the person authorized to control the disposition of such body\nunder section forty-two hundred one of this article consents in writing\nto the delivery and release of the body of such person to the\nuniversity, college, school or institute for the purpose of embalming,\ndissection or autopsy, provided that a chief fiscal officer of a county\nor a public administrator shall not be authorized to provide such\nconsent; or\n (iii) the decedent has through a lawfully executed written instrument,\nwill or trust, consented to such delivery or release;\n (b) In no event shall such delivery or release for the purpose of\nembalming, dissection or autopsy be authorized where the provisions of\nsection forty-two hundred nine-a or forty-two hundred ten-c of this\ntitle apply.\n (c) The person or entity having possession, charge, custody or control\nof the body of a deceased person under subdivision one of this section\nshall have no duty to locate and/or obtain the written consent from any\nperson under this subdivision. Additionally, a chief fiscal officer of a\ncounty or a public administrator shall not be authorized to provide such\nconsent. In the event that such body is not delivered or released to a\nuniversity, college, school or institute under this section, the body\nshall be released for burial or other lawful disposition consistent with\nthis article and any other applicable provision of law.\n (d) The person having lawful possession of a body under this section\nshall not be held liable for actions taken reasonably and in good faith\nupon delivery of a body pursuant to subparagraph (i) of paragraph (a) of\nthis subdivision, presentation of a written consent pursuant to\nsubparagraph (ii) of such paragraph, or a written instrument, will or\ntrust pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of such paragraph.\n (e) The provisions of this section shall apply notwithstanding any\ninconsistent provision of general, special or local law.\n 4. (a) A body of a deceased person shall not be delivered or released\nto, or received by a university, college, school or institute, if within\ntwenty-four hours after notice of death by the person having lawful\npossession, charge, custody or control to the next of kin, or in the\ncounties of Oneida, Onondaga, Oswego, Madison and Cortland to the next\nof kin, or friend of the deceased person such next of kin or friend\nshall claim such body for interment or other lawful disposition.\n (b) Unless a relative or friend of the deceased person shall claim the\nbody of the deceased person within forty-eight hours after death, or\nwithin twenty-four hours after receipt of notice of death as provided in\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision, the next of kin, relatives or\nfriends, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have assented to\ndelivery or release to, and receipt by the university, college, school\nor institute, of such dead body.\n