Section 4351. Duties of hospital administrators, organ procurement organizations, eye banks and tissue banks

1. (a) When the  death  of  a
  person  in  a  hospital  has occurred or is imminent, the hospital shall
  contact the federally designated organ procurement organization in order
  to make a preliminary determination of the suitability of the person for
  organ donation, except where not  required  by  paragraph  (c)  of  this
  subdivision.
    (b)  Where  contact  with  the  federally designated organ procurement
  organization is not required under criteria developed regionally by  the
  federally  designated  organ  procurement  organization  subject  to the
  approval of such criteria by the department, the hospital shall  contact
  the  appropriate  eye  bank or tissue bank, except where not required by
  paragraph (c) of this subdivision.
    (c)  The  federally  designated  organ  procurement  organization,  in
  consultation  with  the tissue procurement providers, may issue criteria
  under which a hospital shall not be required to make the  contact  under
  this subdivision.
    (d)  All  hospitals  shall select at least one eye bank or tissue bank
  for the procurement of tissue, as defined in section forty-three hundred
  sixty of this chapter. A hospital shall notify the federally  designated
  organ  procurement  organization  of  its  choice  of tissue procurement
  providers. If a hospital selects more than one eye bank or  tissue  bank
  as  a  procurement  provider, it may specify a rotation of referrals for
  purposes of tissue procurement.
    2. Where the federally designated organ procurement organization,  eye
  bank  or  tissue  bank  is contacted, it shall, in consultation with the
  hospital,  after  appropriate  medical  screening  (which  may   include
  serological  testing if applicable) determine suitability for organ, eye
  and tissue donation, as appropriate. Where a federally designated  organ
  procurement  organization is contacted, it shall contact the appropriate
  eye bank or tissue bank with respect to suitability for  eye  or  tissue
  donation.
    3.  If  the  federally  designated organ procurement organization, eye
  bank or tissue bank determines  that  organ,  eye  or  tissue  donation,
  respectively,  is not appropriate based on established medical criteria,
  this shall be noted by hospital personnel on the patient's  record,  and
  no  further  action  with  respect  to  organ,  eye  or tissue donation,
  respectively, is necessary.
    4. Where a patient is a suitable candidate for organ,  eye  or  tissue
  donation  and where the patient has not properly executed an organ donor
  card,  driver's  license  authorization  to  make  an  anatomical  gift,
  pursuant  to  paragraph  (a)  of subdivision one of section five hundred
  four of the vehicle and traffic law, registered in the  New  York  state
  organ  and tissue registry under section forty-three hundred ten of this
  article, or otherwise given written  authorization  for  organ,  eye  or
  tissue  donation,  the  hospital  or  its  designee shall cause a timely
  request to be made to any of the following persons, in order of priority
  stated, when persons in prior classes  are  not  available  and  in  the
  absence  of  actual  notice  of  contrary intentions by the decedent, or
  actual notice of opposition by  a  person  or  persons  in  the  highest
  priority  available of the classes specified in paragraph (a), (b), (c),
  (d), or (e) of this subdivision, or other  reason  to  believe  that  an
  anatomic  gift  is  contrary  to  the  decedent's  religious beliefs, to
  consent to the gift of all or any part of the decedent's  body  for  any
  purpose specified in article forty-three of this chapter:
    (a) the spouse;
    (b) a son or daughter eighteen years of age or older;
    (c) either parent;

    (d) a brother or sister eighteen years of age or older;
    (e) a guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of his or her
  death.
    5. The person initiating the request shall be designated by a hospital
  and   shall   be  a  representative  of  a  federally  designated  organ
  procurement  organization,  eye  bank,  tissue  bank,  or  a  designated
  requestor. As used in this section a "designated requestor" shall mean a
  person  who  has  completed  a course provided by a federally designated
  organ procurement organization, eye bank or tissue  bank,  whichever  is
  applicable,  on  how  to  approach  potential donor families and request
  organ, eye, or tissue donation.
    6. Any employee or agent of a federally designated  organ  procurement
  organization,  eye  bank  or tissue bank acting pursuant to this section
  shall be held to the same standard of confidentiality as that imposed on
  employees of the hospital.
    7. The provisions of subdivision three of section forty-three  hundred
  six  of  this  chapter  shall  apply  to  this  section.  To  the extent
  permissible under such subdivision, any person  or  organization  acting
  pursuant to this section, shall be legally responsible for any negligent
  or intentional act or omission committed by such entity or its employees
  or agents.
    8.  A gift made pursuant to the request required by this section shall
  be executed pursuant to applicable provisions of article forty-three  of
  this chapter.
    9.   The  commissioner  shall  establish  regulations  concerning  the
  training of persons who may be designated to perform  the  request,  and
  the procedures to be employed in making it.
    10.  The  commissioner  shall establish such additional regulations as
  are necessary for the implementation of this section.
    * NB Effective until October 25, 2009