{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-311.1953","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 311.1953","heading":"Facilitation of anatomical gift from decedent whose body is under","body":"jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner.\n(1) (a) If a medical examiner or coroner has knowledge that a decedent whose body\nis under his or her jurisdiction wishes to be an organ or tissue donor, or upon\nrequest of a procurement organization, a medical examiner or coroner shall\nrelease to the procurement organization the name, contact information, and\navailable medical and social history of a decedent whose body is under t he\njurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner.\n(b) If the body or part of the decedent identified in paragraph (a) of this\nsubsection is medically suitable for transplantation or therapy, the medical\nexaminer or coroner shall release relevant postmort em examination results to\nthe procurement organization.\n(c) The procurement organization may make a subsequent disclosure of the\npostmortem examination results or other information received from the\nmedical examiner or coroner only if relevant to transplantation or therapy.\n(2) The medical examiner or coroner may conduct a medicolegal investigation by\nreviewing all medical records, laboratory test results, X -rays, other diagnostic\nresults, and other information that any person possesses about a donor or\nprospective donor whose body is under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or\ncoroner that the medical examiner or coroner determines may be relevant to the\ninvestigation.\n(3) A person that has any information requested by a medical examiner or coroner\npursuant to subsection (2) of this section shall provide that information as\nexpeditiously as possible to allow the medical examiner or coroner to conduct the\nmedicolegal investigation within a period compatible with the preservation of parts\nfor the purpose of transplantation or therapy.\n(4) If an anatomical gift has been or might be made of a part of a decedent whose body\nis under the jurisdiction of the medical examiner or coroner and a postmortem\nexamination is not required, or the medical examiner or cor oner determines that a\npostmortem examination is required but that the recovery of the part that is the\nsubject of an anatomical gift will not interfere with the examination, the medical\nexaminer or coroner and the procurement organization shall cooperate in the timely\nremoval of the part from the decedent for the purpose of transplantation or therapy.\n(5) The medical examiner and procurement organizations shall enter into an agreement\nsetting forth protocols and procedures to govern relations between the p arties when\nan anatomical gift of a part from a decedent under the jurisdiction of the medical\nexaminer has been or might be made, but the medical examiner believes that the\nrecovery of the part could interfere with the postmortem investigation into the\ndecedent's cause or manner of death. Decisions regarding the recovery of organs,\ntissue, and eyes from such a decedent shall be made in accordance with the\nagreement. In the event that the medical examiner or coroner denies recovery of an\nanatomical gift, th e procurement organization may request the chief medical\nexaminer to reconsider the denial and to permit the recovery to proceed. The parties\nshall evaluate the effectiveness of the protocols and procedures at regular intervals.\n(6) If the medical examiner  or coroner or designee allows recovery of a part under\nsubsection (4) or (5) of this section, the procurement organization, upon request,\nshall cause the physician or technician who removes the part to provide the medical\nexaminer or coroner with a record  describing the condition of the part, a biopsy, a\nphotograph, and any other information and observations that would assist in the\npostmortem examination.\n(7) If the chief medical examiner or coroner determines that a medical examiner or\ndesignee is requir ed to be present at a removal procedure under subsection (5) of\nthis section, upon request the procurement organization requesting the recovery of\nthe part shall reimburse the medical examiner, or coroner, or designee for the\nadditional cost incurred in complying with subsection (5) of this section.","path":["KRS Chapter 311"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47457","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:03Z","sha256":"bbd4fb685d1a17536881d131e28dfcb05a1768d66a1e5ee155c6f22d9755190d","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-311.1951","next":"us-ky/krs-311.1955"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}