§22-19-181. Cooperation between coroner, medical examiner, and procurement organization.

(a) A coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official or a designee shall cooperate with procurement organizations to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education when it has been determined that the recovery will not interfere with a death investigation. The organ procurement organization, tissue bank, and eye bank will make every reasonable effort to seek approval and release from the coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or designee prior to proceeding with consent approaches to the authorized parties as described in this article. The request for release process will begin with the coroner or designee, who may defer to the medical examiner or designee, who may subsequently defer to the district attorney or designee. At the time of coroner or medical examiner or district attorney notification, the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, or eye bank will share the decedent's donor designation, if known. Despite the best efforts of the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, and eye bank, the topic of donation may be initiated on behalf of the family, a donor record, or any member of the health care team. In the event that jurisdiction is declined by the coroner or designee or medical examiner or designee and/or district attorney or designee, the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, and/or eye bank may proceed with the consent process from the authorized parties as described in this article.

(b) If a coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official receives notice from a procurement organization that an anatomical gift might be available or was made with respect to a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official and a postmortem examination is going to be performed, unless the coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official denies recovery in accordance with Section 22-19-182, the coroner or medical examiner or designee will attempt to conduct a postmortem examination of the body or the part in a manner and within a period compatible with its preservation for the purposes of the gift.

(c) A part may not be removed from the body of a decedent under the jurisdiction of a coroner or medical examiner for transplantation, therapy, research, or education unless the part is the subject of an anatomical gift and release for such part has been obtained from the coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official or a designee. The body of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner may not be delivered to a person for research or education unless the body is the subject of an anatomical gift and release for such body has been obtained by the coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official or a designee. This subsection does not preclude a coroner or medical examiner from performing the medicolegal investigation upon the body or parts of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner.

(d) Protocols for cooperation will be established and utilized during cases under the jurisdiction of a coroner or medical examiner or district attorney or local public health official. These protocols should specify procedures for maximizing donation, yet support and facilitate the medicolegal investigation. These protocols will be reviewed, modified (if required), and ratified unanimously as needed or by a written request from a representative of the Jefferson County Coroner/Medical Examiner Office, the State of Alabama's Department of Forensic Sciences, the Alabama District Attorney's Association, the Alabama Coroner's Association, the Alabama Organ Center, and the Alabama Eye Bank.

(Act 2008-453, p. 867, §1.)