§ 4306 — Rights and duties at death

New York § 4306

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law PBH: Public Health
• Art. 43: Anatomical Gifts

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§ 4306. Rights and duties at death. 1. The donee may accept or reject\nthe gift. If the donee accepts a gift of the entire body, the donee may,\nsubject to the terms of the gift, authorize embalming and the use of the\nbody in funeral services. If the gift is of a part of the body, the\ndonee upon the death of the donor and prior to embalming, may cause the\npart to be removed without unnecessary mutilation. After removal of the\npart, custody of the remainder of the body vests in the surviving\nspouse, next of kin, or other persons under obligation to dispose of the\nbody.\n 2. When a donor is determined dead based on irreversible cessation of\ncirculatory and respiratory functions, the time of death shall be\ncertified by a physician. Such physician may not participate in the\nprocedure to remove or transplant the body part. In all other cases the\ntime of death shall be certified by the physician who attends the donor\nat his death and one other physician, neither of whom shall participate\nin the procedure for removing or transplanting the part.\n 3. (a) (i) A person who acts in good faith in accord with the terms of\nthis article or with the anatomical gift laws of another state, is not\nliable for damages in any civil action or subject to prosecution in any\ncriminal proceeding for his or her act.\n (ii) A person who acts in good faith in accord with the anatomical\ngift laws of another country is not liable for damages in any civil\naction or subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding for his or\nher act provided that:\n (A) such country has anatomical gift laws similar in requirements and\neffects to the anatomical gift laws of this state;\n (B) such country appears on a list of such countries promulgated as a\nregulation by the department for such purpose; and\n (C) such country appeared on such list at the time of such act.\n (b) A person who documents the making, amending or revoking of an\nanatomical gift, acting reasonably and in good faith in accordance with\nthis article, may accept an anatomical gift under this article made by a\nperson who represents that the person is an authorized person under\nsection forty-three hundred one of this article and is entitled to\nconsent to the donation.\n (c) An entity under section forty-three hundred two or forty-three\nhundred ten of this article or a health care professional, or an agent\nor employee thereof, who or which documents, records, recovers,\nprocures, obtains, or utilizes an organ or tissue in reasonable and good\nfaith reliance on information provided to or contained in the New York\nstate donate life registry shall not be liable in any civil or criminal\naction or proceeding for action based on such reliance.\n 4. Any employee or agent of an organ procurement organization, eye\nbank or tissue bank acting pursuant to this article shall be held to the\nsame standard of confidentiality as that imposed on employees of a\nhospital.\n