West Virginia Code 16-19-11 – Persons who may receive anatomical gift; purpose of anatomical gift
(a) An anatomical gift may be made to the following persons named in the document of gift:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 16-19-11
- Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
- Anatomical gift: means a donation of all or part of a human body, to take effect after the donor's death, for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Document of gift: means a donor card or other record used to make an anatomical gift. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Eye bank: means a person licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of human eyes or portions of human eyes. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
- Hospital: means a facility licensed as a hospital under the law of any state or a facility operated as a hospital by the United States, a state, or a subdivision of a state. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Know: means to have actual knowledge. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
- Organ procurement organization: means a nonprofit entity designated by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as an organ procurement organization pursuant to 42 U. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Part: means an organ, an eye, or tissue of a human being. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Procurement organization: means an eye bank, organ procurement organization, or tissue bank. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Recipient: means an individual into whose body a decedent's part has been or is intended to be transplanted. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Refusal: means a record created under §. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Revocation: means the affirmative declaration of the potential donor's withdrawal of their decision to make or not make a document of gift. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Tissue: means a portion of the human body other than an organ or an eye. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
- Tissue bank: means a person that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of tissue. See West Virginia Code 16-19-3
(1) A hospital; accredited medical school, dental school, college, or university; organ procurement organization; or other appropriate person, for research or education;
(2) An individual designated by the person making the anatomical gift as the recipient of the part; or
(3) An eye bank or tissue bank.
(b) If an anatomical gift is made to an individual under subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this section and the donated body part cannot be transplanted into the named individual, in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the person making the anatomical gift, the part passes pursuant to subsection (g) of this section;
(c) If a document of gift makes an anatomical gift and identifies the purpose for which the gift may be used but does not designate a person described in subsection (a) of this section to receive the gift, the following rules apply:
(1) If the part is an eye and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate eye bank.
(2) If the part is tissue and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate tissue bank.
(3) If the part is an organ and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.
(4) If the part is an organ, an eye, or tissue and the gift is for the purpose of research or education, the gift passes to the appropriate procurement organization.
(d) If the document of gift states more than one purpose of an anatomical gift but does not specify the priority, the gift must be used for transplantation or therapy, if suitable. If the gift cannot be used for transplantation or therapy, the gift may be used for research or education.
(e) If the document of gift does not identify the purpose of the anatomical gift, the gift may be used only for transplantation or therapy and passes in accordance with subsection (g) of this section.
(f) If a document of gift specifies only a general intent to make an anatomical gift by using words such as "donor", "organ donor", or "body donor", or by a symbol or statement of similar import, the gift may be used for transplantation, research or therapy and passes in accordance with subsection (g) of this section.
(g) For purposes of subsections (b), (e), and (f) of this section, and anatomical gift passes in the following manner:
(1) If the part is an eye, the gift passes to the appropriate eye bank.
(2) If the part is tissue, the gift passes to the appropriate tissue bank.
(3) If the part is an organ, the gift passes to the appropriate organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.
(h) An anatomical gift of an organ for transplantation or therapy, other than a gift to an individual described in subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this section, passes to an organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.
(i) If an anatomical gift does not pass pursuant to subsections (a) through (h) of this section or the body or part is not used for transplantation, therapy, research, or education, custody of the body or part passes to the person under obligation to dispose of the body or part.
(j) A person may not accept an anatomical gift if he or she knows that:
(1) The gift was not effectively made pursuant to this article; or
(2) The decedent made a refusal under section seven of this article that was not revoked.
(k) For purposes of subsection (j), if a person knows that an anatomical gift was made in a document of gift, the person is presumed to know of any amendment or revocation of the gift or any refusal to make an anatomical gift in the same document of gift.
(l) Except as provided in subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this section, nothing in this article affects the allocation of organs for transplantation or therapy.