4306 - Rights and duties at death. - New York Statutes

§ 4306. Rights and duties at death. 1. 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. If the gift is of a part of the body, the donee upon the death of the donor and prior to embalming, may cause the part to be removed without unnecessary mutilation. 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. 2. When a donor is determined dead based on irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, the time of death shall be certified by a physician. Such physician may not participate in the procedure to remove or transplant the body part. In all other cases the time of death shall be certified by the physician who attends the donor at his death and one other physician, neither of whom shall participate in the procedure for removing or transplanting the part. 3. A person who acts in good faith in accord with the terms of this article or with the anatomical gift laws of another state is not liable for damages in any civil action or subject to prosecution in any criminal proceeding for his act. 4. At the time of acceptance of the gift, when it is known that the donation will be used for other than transplantation purposes, the donee if requested by the donor or the donor's next of kin shall advise the donor or the donor's next of kin of the body parts to be utilized, the uses to which the body parts may be put, whether body parts may be transferred to other facilities or institutions and plans for the ultimate disposition of all body parts if the donor has not specified the ultimate disposition.