Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of Public Act 094-0920
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Public Act 094-0920


 

Public Act 0920 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY



 


 
Public Act 094-0920
 
HB5259 Enrolled LRB094 17646 RCE 52944 b

    AN ACT concerning organ donation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Anatomical Gift Act is amended by
changing Sections 5-20 and 5-45 as follows:
 
    (755 ILCS 50/5-20)  (was 755 ILCS 50/5)
    Sec. 5-20. Manner of Executing Anatomical Gifts.
    (a) A gift of all or part of the body under Section 5-5 (a)
may be made by will. The gift becomes effective upon the death
of the testator without waiting for probate. If the will is not
probated, or if it is declared invalid for testamentary
purposes, the gift, to the extent that it has been acted upon
in good faith, is nevertheless valid and effective.
    (b) A gift of all or part of the body under Section 5-5 (a)
may also be made by a written, signed document other than a
will. The gift becomes effective upon the death of the donor.
The document, which may be a card or a valid driver's license
designed to be carried on the person, is effective without
regard to the presence or signature of witnesses. Such a gift
may also be made by properly executing the form provided by the
Secretary of State on the reverse side of the donor's driver's
license pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 6-110 of The
Illinois Vehicle Code. Delivery of the document of gift during
the donor's lifetime is not necessary to make the gift valid.
    (b-1) A gift under Section 5-5 (a) may also be made by an
individual consenting to have his or her name included in the
First Person Consent organ and tissue donor registry maintained
by the Secretary of State under Section 6-117 of the Illinois
Vehicle Code. An individual's consent to have his or her name
included in the First Person Consent organ and tissue donor
registry constitutes full legal authority for the donation of
any of his or her organs or tissue. Consenting to be included
in the First Person Consent organ and tissue donor registry is
effective without regard to the presence or signature of
witnesses.
    (c) The gift may be made to a specified donee or without
specifying a donee. If the latter, the gift may be accepted by
the attending physician as donee upon or following death. If
the gift is made to a specified donee who is not available at
the time and place of death, then if made for the purpose of
transplantation, it shall be effectuated in accordance with
Section 5-25, and if made for any other purpose the attending
physician upon or following death, in the absence of any
expressed indication that the donor desired otherwise, may
accept the gift as donee.
    (d) Notwithstanding Section 5-45 (b), the donor may
designate in his will, card, or other document of gift the
surgeon or physician to carry out the appropriate procedures.
In the absence of a designation or if the designee is not
available, the donee or other person authorized to accept the
gift may employ or authorize any surgeon or physician for the
purpose.
    (e) Any gift by a person designated in Section 5-5 (b)
shall be made by a document signed by him or made by his
telegraphic, recorded telephonic, or other recorded message.
    (f) When there is a suitable candidate for organ donation
and a donation or consent to donate has not yet been given,
procedures to preserve the decedent's body for possible organ
and tissue donation may be implemented under the authorization
of the applicable organ procurement agency, at its own expense,
prior to making a donation request pursuant to Section 5-25. If
the organ procurement agency does not locate a person
authorized to consent to donation or consent to donation is
denied, then procedures to preserve the decedent's body shall
be ceased and no donation shall be made. The organ procurement
agency shall respect the religious tenets of the decedent, if
known, such as a pause after death, before initiating
preservation services. Nothing in this Section shall be
construed to authorize interference with the coroner in
carrying out an investigation or autopsy.
(Source: P.A. 93-794, eff. 7-22-04; 94-75, eff. 1-1-06.)
 
    (755 ILCS 50/5-45)  (was 755 ILCS 50/8)
    Sec. 5-45. Rights and Duties at Death.
    (a) The donee may accept or reject the gift. If the donee
accepts a gift of the entire body, he may, subject to the terms
of the gift, authorize embalming and the use of the body in
funeral services, unless a person named in subsection (b) of
Section 5-5 has requested, prior to the final disposition by
the donee, that the remains of said body be returned to his or
her custody for the purpose of final disposition. Such request
shall be honored by the donee if the terms of the gift are
silent on how final disposition is to take place. If the gift
is of a part of the body, the donee or technician designated by
him upon the death of the donor and prior to embalming, shall
cause the part to be removed without unnecessary mutilation and
without undue delay in the release of the body for the purposes
of final disposition. After removal of the part, custody of the
remainder of the body vests in the surviving spouse, next of
kin, or other persons under obligation to dispose of the body,
in the order or priority listed in subsection (b) of Section
5-5 of this Act.
    (b) The time of death shall be determined by a physician
who attends the donor at his death, or, if none, the physician
who certifies the death. The physician shall not participate in
the procedures for removing or transplanting a part.
    (c) A person who acts in good faith in accord with the
terms of this Act, the Illinois Vehicle Code, and the AIDS
Confidentiality Act, or the anatomical gift laws of another
state or a foreign country, is not liable for damages in any
civil action or subject to prosecution in any criminal
proceeding for his act. Any person that participates in good
faith and according to the usual and customary standards of
medical practice in the preservation, removal, or
transplantation of any part of a decedent's body pursuant to an
anatomical gift made by the decedent under Section 5-20 of this
Act or pursuant to an anatomical gift made by an individual as
authorized by subsection (b) of Section 5-5 of this Act shall
have immunity from liability, civil, criminal, or otherwise,
that might result by reason of such actions. For the purpose of
any proceedings, civil or criminal, the validity of an
anatomical gift executed pursuant to Section 5-20 of this Act
shall be presumed and the good faith of any person
participating in the removal or transplantation of any part of
a decedent's body pursuant to an anatomical gift made by the
decedent or by another individual authorized by the Act shall
be presumed.
    (d) This Act is subject to the provisions of "An Act to
revise the law in relation to coroners", approved February 6,
1874, as now or hereafter amended, to the laws of this State
prescribing powers and duties with respect to autopsies, and to
the statutes, rules, and regulations of this State with respect
to the transportation and disposition of deceased human bodies.
    (e) If the donee is provided information, or determines
through independent examination, that there is evidence that
the gift was exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
or any other identified causative agent of acquired
immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), the donee may reject the gift
and shall treat the information and examination results as a
confidential medical record; the donee may disclose only the
results confirming HIV exposure, and only to the physician of
the deceased donor. The donor's physician shall determine
whether the person who executed the gift should be notified of
the confirmed positive test result.
(Source: P.A. 93-794, eff. 7-22-04; 94-75, eff. 1-1-06.)

Effective Date: 1/1/2007