2006 Utah Code - 26-28-6 — Routine inquiry and required request -- Search and notification.

     26-28-6.   Routine inquiry and required request -- Search and notification.
     (1) At or near the time of a patient's death, the administrator of the hospital where the patient is being treated or a representative designated by the administrator shall:
     (a) notify the appropriate organ procurement organization of the imminent or actual death of the patient;
     (b) ensure, in collaboration with the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, and eye bank that readily available persons listed as having priority in Section 26-28-4 are informed of the option to make or refuse to make an anatomical gift in accordance with Section 26-28-4, with reasonable discretion and sensitivity appropriate to the circumstances of the family;
     (c) enter the required information on a Utah Anatomical Consent Form or hospital death form as adopted by the department, which may include the patient's name and demographic information, medical suitability of the patient, the response of the person to whom the request was made and the person's relationship to the patient, and if the patient does not meet the medical criteria, the reasons he did not meet the criteria;
     (d) obtain the signature or verbal confirmation of the one having the highest priority of the readily available persons listed as having priority in Section 26-28-4, signifying whether he consented or declined to consent to the making of an anatomical gift on behalf of the patient; and
     (e) obtain verbal or written confirmation from the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, or eye bank, including name and organization, indicating whether the patient is eligible or not to make an anatomical gift.
     (2) For purposes of Subsection (1)(b), the individual designated by the hospital to initiate the request to the family must be an organ procurement entity representative or an individual who has completed a course offered or approved by the organ procurement organization and designed in conjunction with the tissue and eye bank community in the methodology for approaching potential donor families.
     (3) (a) A law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical services provider, or other emergency rescuer who finds an individual who is deceased or near death, and a hospital, upon the admission of an individual at or near death, shall:
     (i) make a reasonable search for a document of gift or other information identifying whether the individual has made or refused to make an anatomical gift; and
     (ii) if he finds a document of gift, evidence of a document of gift, or evidence of refusal, notify the hospital to which the individual is taken and deliver the evidence to the hospital.
     (b) When a law enforcement officer, fireman, emergency medical services provider, or other emergency rescuer finds an individual who is deceased at the scene of a motor vehicle accident, and when the deceased individual is transported from the scene of the accident to a funeral establishment licensed under Title 58, Chapter 9, Funeral Services Licensing Act:
     (i) the law enforcement officer, firemen, emergency medical services provider, or other emergency rescuer shall as soon as reasonably possible, notify the appropriate organ procurement organization, tissue bank, or eye bank of:
     (A) the identity of the deceased individual, if known; and
     (B) information, if known, pertaining to the deceased individual's legal next-of-kin in accordance with Subsection 26-28-4(1);
     (C) the name and location of the funeral establishment which received custody of and transported the deceased individual; and
     (ii) the funeral establishment receiving custody of the deceased individual under this

Subsection (3) may not embalm the body of the deceased individual until:
     (A) the funeral establishment receives notice from the organ procurement organization, tissue bank, or eye bank that the readily available persons listed as having priority in Section 26-28-4 have been informed by the individual described in Subsection (2) of the option to make or refuse to make an anatomical gift in accordance with Section 26-28-4, with reasonable discretion and sensitivity appropriate to the circumstances of the family;
     (B) in accordance with federal law, prior approval for embalming has been obtained from a family member or other authorized person; and
     (C) the period of time in which embalming is prohibited under Subsection (3)(b)(ii) may not exceed 24 hours after death.
     (4) A hospital shall notify the appropriate organ procurement organization that a part is available if a person known to be a donor, and at or near death, is in transit to the hospital.
     (5) The hospital and funeral establishment shall cooperate in the release and removal of the anatomical gift.
     (6) A person who fails to discharge the duties imposed by this section is not subject to civil or criminal liability but is subject to appropriate administrative sanctions against the professional certification or license and against the facility's license.

Amended by Chapter 149, 2004 General Session