Illinois Anatomical Gift Act - 755 ILCS 50, Section 5-45 - Illinois Attorney Resources

Illinois Anatomical Gift Act - 755 ILCS 50, Section 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 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.)

Last modified: April 9, 2006