GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2007
SESSION LAW 2008-153
SENATE BILL 1651
AN ACT to amend the revised anatomical gift act and other sections of the general statutes for consistency, as recommended by the general statutes commission, and to lower the minimum age for donating blood from seventeen to sixteen.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 90‑602 reads as rewritten:
"§
90‑602. Routine search for donor information.information;
notification of hospital; definitions as provided in the Revised Uniform
Anatomical Gift Act.
(a) The following persons may make a reasonable
search for a document of gift or other information identifying the bearer as an
organ donor or as an individual who has refused to make an anatomical gift:
(1) A law enforcement officer, firefighter,
paramedic, or other official emergency rescuer finding an individual who the
searcher believes is near death; and
(2) A hospital, upon the admission of an
individual at or near the time of death, if there is not immediately available
any other source of that information.
For the purposes of this section, the terms "anatomical gift," "document of gift," "donor," and "refusal" have the same meaning as in G.S. 130A‑412.4.
(a1) The following persons may make a reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:
(1) A law enforcement officer,
(2) A firefighter,
(3) A paramedic, or
(4) Another official emergency rescuer finding the individual.
If a document of gift or a refusal is located by a search under this subsection and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is taken to a hospital, the person conducting the search shall send the document of gift or refusal to the hospital or cause it to be sent.
(a2) If no other source of information is immediately available, a hospital shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the hospital reasonably believes is dead or near death, as soon as practical after the individual arrives at the hospital, for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal.
(b) Any law enforcement officer or other person listed
in subsection (a)(a1) or (a2) of this section may conduct an
administrative search of the accident‑trauma victim's Division of Motor
Vehicles driver record to determine the individual's authorization for organ
donation or refusal of organ donation.ascertain whether the individual
is a donor. If a document of gift or a refusal is located by a search under
this subsection and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is
taken to a hospital, the person conducting the search shall notify the hospital
of the results or cause the hospital to be notified.
(c) A physical search pursuant to subsection (a)(a1)
or (a2) of this section may be conducted at or near the time of death or
hospital admission and shall be limited to those personal effects of the
individual where a drivers license reasonably may be stored. Any information,
document, tangible objects, or other items discovered during the search shall
be used solely for the purpose of ascertaining the individual's identity,
notifying the individual's next of kin, and determining whether the individual
intends to make an anatomical gift, and in no event shall any such discovered
material be admissible in any subsequent criminal or civil proceeding, unless
obtained pursuant to a lawful search on other grounds.
(d) A hospital or other person with duties under this section is not subject to criminal or civil liability for failing to discharge those duties but may be subject to administrative sanctions.
(e) A person that acts under this section with due care, or attempts in good faith to do so, is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding."
SECTION 2. G.S. 130A‑412.14 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑412.14. Search and notification.
(a) The following persons shall make a
reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead
or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the
individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:
(1) A law enforcement officer, firefighter,
paramedic, or other emergency rescuer finding the individual; and
(2) If no other source of the information is
immediately available, a hospital, as soon as practical after the individual's
arrival at the hospital.
(b) If a document of gift or a refusal to
make an anatomical gift is located by the search required by subdivision (a)(1)
of this section and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is
taken to a hospital, the person responsible for conducting the search shall
send the document of gift or refusal to the hospital.
(c) A person is not subject to criminal or
civil liability for failing to discharge the duties imposed by this section but
may be subject to administrative sanctions.
A search of an individual who is reasonably believed to be dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal, and, if applicable, notification of the hospital to which the individual is taken, shall be governed by G.S. 90‑602."
SECTION 3. G.S. 130A‑391 is repealed.
SECTION 4. G.S. 32A‑15(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) This Article is intended and shall be
construed to be consistent with the provisions of Part 3Part 3A
of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. In the event of a
conflict between the provisions of this Article and Part 3 Part 3A
of Article 16 of Chapter 130A, the provisions of Part 3Part 3A of
Article 16 of Chapter 130A control."
SECTION 5. G.S. 90‑210.124(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) This section does not apply to the disposition
of dead human bodies as anatomical gifts under Part 3Part 3A of
Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes or the right to perform
autopsies under Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 6. G.S. 90‑210.129(q) reads as rewritten:
"(q) Before the cremation of amputated body parts,
the crematory licensee shall receive a written statement, on a form prescribed
by the Board and signed by the attending physician, acknowledging the
circumstances of the amputation. If after reasonable efforts no physician can
be identified with knowledge and information sufficient to complete the written
statement required by this subsection, the crematory licensee shall notify the
local medical examiner pursuant to G.S. 130A‑383(b). This section
does not apply to the disposition of body parts cremated pursuant to Part 3Part
3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 7. G.S. 130A‑415(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f) Notwithstanding anything contained in this
section, an unclaimed body shall not mean a dead body for which the deceased
has made a gift pursuant to Part 3Part 3A of this Article."
SECTION 8. G.S. 130A‑420(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d) This section does not apply to the disposition
of dead human bodies as anatomical gifts under Part 3Part 3A of
Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes or the right to perform
autopsies under Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 9. G.S. 130A‑412.31 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑412.31.
Giving of blood by persons 1716 years of age or more.
A person who is 1716 years of age or more may
give or donate blood to an individual, hospital, blood bank or blood collection
center without the consent of the parent or parents or guardian of the donor.
It shall be unlawful for a person under the age of 18 years to sell blood."
SECTION 10. This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 8th day of July, 2008.
s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ Joe Hackney
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 8:42 p.m. this 2nd day of August, 2008