Retention by Medical Examiner of Organs from a Deceased Person for Additional Testing to Determine Identification or Cause or Manner of Death; Notice

(a) Unless directed otherwise by the Governor, the Attorney General, a district attorney, or an order of a circuit court judge, a medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, shall notify the next of kin, through the appropriate law enforcement agency, when retaining a deceased person’s entire organ or organs for additional testing that is required to determine identification or the cause or manner of death. (b) A medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, is prohibited from retaining a deceased person’s entire organ or organs for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of identification or cause or manner of death without notification to, and approval by, the appropriate next of kin. (Act 2021-168, §1.)