Section 4-508 - Rights of next of kin and donee; time of death; civil or criminal liability; autopsies. - Maryland Statutes

§ 4-508. Rights of next of kin and donee; time of death; civil or criminal liability; autopsies.
 

(a)  Acceptance or rejection of gift; custody of body of decedent; determining time of death.- The donee may accept or reject the gift. If the gift is only a part of the body, promptly following the removal of the part named, custody of the remaining parts of the body shall be transferred to the next of kin or other person or agency authorized or under obligation to dispose of the body. The time of death shall be determined by the physician in attendance upon the terminal illness of the donor or certifying his death, and the physician may not be a member of the team of physicians which transplants the part to another individual. 

(b)  No civil or criminal liability for unknowingly violating subtitle.- A person who, in good faith and acting in reliance upon an authorization made under the provisions of this subtitle or under the anatomical gift laws of another state or foreign country and without notice of revocation, takes possession of, performs surgical operations upon, or removes tissue, substances, or parts from the human body or refuses the gift, or a person who unknowingly fails to carry out the wishes of the donor according to the provisions of this subtitle or under the anatomical gift laws of another state or foreign country, is not subject to prosecution in any criminal proceedings or liable for damages in a civil action brought against him for the act or failure to act. 

(c)  Effect of laws concerning autopsies.- The provisions of this subtitle are subject to the laws prescribing powers and duties with respect to autopsies and are not in contravention of them. 
 

[An. Code 1957, art. 43, § 147; 1974, ch. 11, § 2; 1998, chs. 1, 2.]