AN ACT to amend the revised anatomical gift act and other sections of the general statutes for consistency, as recommended by the general statutes commission, and to lower the minimum age for donating blood from seventeen to sixteen.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 90‑602 reads as rewritten:
"§ 90‑602.  Routine search for donor information; notification of hospital; definitions as provided in the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.
(a)			For the purposes of this section, the terms "anatomical gift," "document of gift," "donor," and "refusal" have the same meaning as in G.S. 130A‑412.4.
(a1)	The following persons may make a reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal:
(1)	A law enforcement officer,
(2)	A firefighter,
(3)	A paramedic, or
(4)	Another official emergency rescuer finding the individual.
If a document of gift or a refusal is located by a search under this subsection and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is taken to a hospital, the person conducting the search shall send the document of gift or refusal to the hospital or cause it to be sent.
(a2)	If no other source of information is immediately available, a hospital shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the hospital reasonably believes is dead or near death, as soon as practical after the individual arrives at the hospital, for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal.
(b)	Any law enforcement officer or other person listed in subsection (a1) or (a2) of this section may conduct an administrative search of the accident‑trauma victim's Division of Motor Vehicles driver record to ascertain whether the individual is a donor. If a document of gift or a refusal is located by a search under this subsection and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is taken to a hospital, the person conducting the search shall notify the hospital of the results or cause the hospital to be notified.
(c)	A physical search pursuant to subsection (a1) or (a2) of this section shall be limited to those personal effects of the individual where a drivers license reasonably may be stored. Any information, document, tangible objects, or other items discovered during the search shall be used solely for the purpose of ascertaining the individual's identity, notifying the individual's next of kin, and determining whether the individual intends to make an anatomical gift, and in no event shall any such discovered material be admissible in any subsequent criminal or civil proceeding, unless obtained pursuant to a lawful search on other grounds.
(d)	A hospital or other person with duties under this section is not subject to criminal or civil liability for failing to discharge those duties but may be subject to administrative sanctions.
(e)	A person that acts under this section with due care, or attempts in good faith to do so, is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding."
SECTION 2.  G.S. 130A‑412.14 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑412.14.  Search and notification.
					
A search of an individual who is reasonably believed to be dead or near death for a document of gift or other information identifying the individual as a donor or as an individual who made a refusal, and, if applicable, notification of the hospital to which the individual is taken, shall be governed by G.S. 90‑602."
SECTION 3.  G.S. 130A‑391 is repealed.
SECTION 4.  G.S. 32A‑15(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This Article is intended and shall be construed to be consistent with the provisions of Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes. In the event of a conflict between the provisions of this Article and  Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A, the provisions of Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A control."
SECTION 5.  G.S. 90‑210.124(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This section does not apply to the disposition of dead human bodies as anatomical gifts under Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes or the right to perform autopsies under Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 6.  G.S. 90‑210.129(q) reads as rewritten:
"(q)	Before the cremation of amputated body parts, the crematory licensee shall receive a written statement, on a form prescribed by the Board and signed by the attending physician, acknowledging the circumstances of the amputation. If after reasonable efforts no physician can be identified with knowledge and information sufficient to complete the written statement required by this subsection, the crematory licensee shall notify the local medical examiner pursuant to G.S. 130A‑383(b). This section does not apply to the disposition of body parts cremated pursuant to Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 7.  G.S. 130A‑415(f) reads as rewritten:
"(f)	Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, an unclaimed body shall not mean a dead body for which the deceased has made a gift pursuant to Part 3A of this Article."
SECTION 8.  G.S. 130A‑420(d) reads as rewritten:
"(d)	This section does not apply to the disposition of dead human bodies as anatomical gifts under Part 3A of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes or the right to perform autopsies under Part 2 of Article 16 of Chapter 130A of the General Statutes."
SECTION 9.  G.S. 130A‑412.31 reads as rewritten:
"§ 130A‑412.31.  Giving of blood by persons 16 years of age or more.
A person who is 16 years of age or more may give or donate blood to an individual, hospital, blood bank or blood collection center without the consent of the parent or parents or guardian of the donor. It shall be unlawful for a person under the age of 18 years to sell blood."
SECTION 10.  This act is effective when it becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 8th day of July, 2008.

	s/	 Beverly E. Perdue
	 President of the Senate

	s/	 Joe Hackney
	 Speaker of the House of Representatives

	s/	 Michael F. Easley
	 Governor

Approved 8:42 p.m. this 2nd day of August, 2008