Virginia Law

The Commissioner shall establish and maintain, for the purpose of conducting medicolegal investigations of deaths and postmortem examinations, an Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, which shall include a central office and facilities and such district offices and facilities in such localities in the Commonwealth as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article. The central office and each district office established pursuant to this section shall be under the supervision of the Chief Medical Examiner. Each such office and facility shall have adequate professional, technical, and medical investigative personnel and physical facilities for the conduct of such examinations and investigations as may be authorized or required by law.

Code 1950, § 32-31.12; 1960, c. 366; 1972, c. 741; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 1998, c. 217; 2014, c. 583; 2019, c. 168.

A Chief Medical Examiner, who shall be a forensic pathologist licensed to practice medicine in this Commonwealth, shall be appointed by the Commissioner with the approval of the Board.

Code 1950, § 32-31.10; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711.

A. The Chief Medical Examiner shall carry out the provisions of this article under the direction of the Commissioner. The Chief Medical Examiner may, with the approval of the Commissioner, employ forensic pathologists to serve as Assistant Chief Medical Examiners in the central and district offices established pursuant to § 32.1-277.

B. The Chief Medical Examiner and Assistant Chief Medical Examiners shall be available to Virginia Commonwealth University, the University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, and other institutions of higher education providing instruction in health science or law for teaching legal medicine and other subjects related to their duties.

Code 1950, § 32-31.12; 1960, c. 366; 1972, c. 741; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 1991, c. 454; 2002, cc. 87, 478; 2014, c. 583; 2023, cc. 756, 778.

Repealed by Acts 2014, c. 583, cl. 2.

In the investigation of any death or for the performance of any autopsy authorized or required pursuant to this article, the Commissioner may enter into an agreement for the provision of services with a qualified pathologist or consultant, designated by the Chief Medical Examiner, to perform such autopsy or to make such studies and investigations as may be deemed necessary or advisable by the Chief Medical Examiner and may arrange for the use of mortuary facilities. In any case in which the Commissioner enters into an agreement for the provision of services with a qualified pathologist or consultant in accordance with this section, the cost of such services shall be paid out of funds appropriated for such purpose.

Code 1950, § 32-31.15; 1960, c. 366; 1972, c. 741; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 1998, c. 217; 2014, c. 583.

A. The Chief Medical Examiner may appoint for each county and city one or more medical examiners, who shall be licensed as a doctor of medicine or osteopathic medicine, a physician assistant, or an advanced practice registered nurse in the Commonwealth and appointed as agents of the Commonwealth, to assist the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with medicolegal death investigations. A physician assistant appointed as a medical examiner shall practice in accordance with § 54.1-2952. An advanced practice registered nurse appointed as a medical examiner shall practice in accordance with § 54.1-2957.

B. At the request of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or their designees, medical examiners may assist the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with cases requiring medicolegal death investigations in accordance with § 32.1-283.

C. The term of each medical examiner appointed, other than an appointment to fill a vacancy, shall begin on the first day of October of the year of appointment. The term of each medical examiner shall be three years; however, an appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired term.

Code 1950, § 32-31.16; 1952, c. 318; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 2014, c. 583; 2015, c. 107; 2017, c. 170; 2018, c. 776; 2022, c. 151; 2023, c. 183.

The Chief Medical Examiner may appoint per diem medicolegal death investigators, who shall have knowledge of standards and procedures for medicolegal death investigations, to assist the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with medicolegal death investigations. Per diem medicolegal death investigators shall be agents of the Commonwealth.

2015, c. 53.

A. Upon the death of any person from trauma, injury, violence, poisoning, accident, suicide, or homicide, or suddenly when in apparent good health, or when unattended by a physician, or in jail, prison, or other correctional institution, or in police custody, or who was at the time of his death, or immediately prior to admission to another hospital, an individual receiving services in a state hospital or training center operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services whether the death of such individual was expected or unexpected, or suddenly as an apparent result of fire, or in any suspicious, unusual, or unnatural manner, or the sudden death of any infant, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall be notified by the physician in attendance, hospital, law-enforcement officer, funeral director, or any other person having knowledge of such death. Good faith efforts shall be made by any person or institution having initial custody of the dead body to identify and to notify the next of kin of the decedent. Notification shall include informing the person presumed to be the next of kin that he has a right to have identification of the decedent confirmed without due delay and without being held financially responsible for any procedures performed for the purpose of the identification. Identity of the next of kin, if determined, shall be provided to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner upon transfer of the dead body.

B. Upon being notified of a death as provided in subsection A, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall take charge of the dead body and the Chief Medical Examiner shall cause an investigation into the cause and manner of death to be made and a full report, which shall include written findings, to be prepared. In order to facilitate the investigation, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is authorized to inspect and copy the pertinent medical records of the decedent whose death is the subject of the investigation. Full directions as to the nature, character, and extent of the investigation to be made in such cases shall be furnished each medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282 by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, together with appropriate forms for the required reports and instructions for their use. The facilities and personnel of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall be made available to any medical examiner investigating a death in accordance with this section. Reports and findings of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall be confidential and shall not under any circumstance be disclosed or made available for discovery pursuant to a court subpoena or otherwise, except as provided in this chapter. Nothing in this subsection shall prohibit the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner from releasing the cause or manner of death or prohibit disclosure of reports or findings to the parties in a criminal case.

C. A copy of each report pursuant to this section shall be delivered to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth and to the appropriate law-enforcement agency investigating the death. A copy of any such report regarding the death of a victim of a traffic accident shall be furnished upon request to the State Police and the Highway Safety Commission. In addition, a copy of any report concerning an individual who was receiving services, or who immediately prior to admission to another hospital received services, in a state hospital or training center operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services shall be delivered to the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services and to the State Inspector General. A copy of any autopsy report concerning a prisoner committed to the custody of the Director of the Department of Corrections shall, upon request of the Director of the Department of Corrections, be delivered to the Director of the Department of Corrections. A copy of any autopsy report concerning a prisoner committed to any local correctional facility shall be delivered to the local sheriff or superintendent. Upon request, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall release such autopsy report to the decedent's attending physician and to the personal representative or executor of the decedent. At the discretion of the Chief Medical Examiner, an autopsy report may be released to the following persons in the following order of priority: (i) the spouse of the decedent, (ii) an adult son or daughter of the decedent, (iii) either parent of the decedent, (iv) an adult sibling of the decedent, (v) any other adult relative of the decedent in order of blood relationship, or (vi) any appropriate health facility quality assurance program.

D. For each investigation under this article, including the making of the required reports, the medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282 shall receive a fee established by the Board within the limitations of appropriations for the purpose. Such fee shall be paid by the Commonwealth if the deceased is not a legal resident of the county or city in which his death occurred. In the event the deceased is a legal resident of the county or city in which his death occurred, such county or city shall be responsible for the fee up to $20. If the deceased is an individual who receives services in a state hospital or training center operated by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the fee shall be paid by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.

E. Nothing herein shall be construed to interfere with the autopsy procedure or with the routine obtaining of consent for removal of organs as conducted by surgical teams or others.

Code 1950, §§ 32-31.17, 32-31.18, 32-31.20; 1950, p. 659; 1952, cc. 318, 705; 1960, c. 366; 1962, c. 366; 1968, c. 431; 1972, cc. 556, 741; 1974, c. 443; 1975, c. 475; 1978, c. 175; 1979, c. 711; 1981, c. 388; 1985, c. 228; 1993, c. 965; 2002, c. 203; 2003, c. 368; 2007, cc. 19, 868; 2008, cc. 287, 433; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2011, cc. 798, 871; 2012, cc. 476, 507; 2014, c. 583; 2023, c. 566.

A. There is hereby created the State Child Fatality Review Team, referred to in this section as "the Team," which shall develop and implement procedures to ensure that child deaths occurring in Virginia are analyzed in a systematic way. The Team shall review (i) violent and unnatural child deaths, (ii) sudden child deaths occurring within the first 18 months of life, and (iii) those fatalities for which the cause or manner of death was not determined with reasonable medical certainty. No child death review shall be initiated by the Team until conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or criminal prosecution. The Team shall (i) develop and revise as necessary operating procedures for the review of child deaths, including identification of cases to be reviewed and procedures for coordination among the agencies and professionals involved, (ii) improve the identification, data collection, and record keeping of the causes of child death, (iii) recommend components for prevention and education programs, (iv) recommend training to improve the investigation of child deaths, and (v) provide technical assistance, upon request, to any local child fatality teams that may be established. The operating procedures for the review of child deaths shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 17 of § 2.2-4002.

B. The 16-member Team shall be chaired by the Chief Medical Examiner and shall be composed of the following persons or their designees: the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services; the Director of Child Protective Services within the Department of Social Services; the Superintendent of Public Instruction; the State Registrar of Vital Records; and the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services. In addition, one representative from each of the following entities shall be appointed by the Governor to serve for a term of three years: local law-enforcement agencies, local fire departments, local departments of social services, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians, the Virginia Pediatric Society, local emergency medical services personnel, attorneys for the Commonwealth, and community services boards.

C. Upon the request of the Chief Medical Examiner in his capacity as chair of the Team, made after the conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or prosecution, information and records regarding a child whose death is being reviewed by the Team may be inspected and copied by the Chief Medical Examiner or his designee, including, but not limited to, any report of the circumstances of the event maintained by any state or local law-enforcement agency or medical examiner, and information or records maintained on such child by any school, social services agency or court. Information, records, or reports maintained by any attorney for the Commonwealth shall be made available for inspection and copying by the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to procedures which shall be developed by the Chief Medical Examiner and the Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council established by § 2.2-2617. Any presentence report prepared pursuant to § 19.2-299 for any person convicted of a crime that led to the death of the child shall be made available for inspection and copying by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to procedures which shall be developed by the Chief Medical Examiner. In addition, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may inspect and copy from any Virginia health care provider, on behalf of the Team, (i) without obtaining consent, the health and mental health records of the child and those perinatal medical records of the child's mother that related to such child and (ii) upon obtaining consent from each adult regarding his personal records, or from a parent regarding the records of a minor child, the health and mental health records of the child's family. All such information and records shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. Upon the conclusion of the child death review, all information and records concerning the child and the child's family shall be shredded or otherwise destroyed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in order to ensure confidentiality. Such information or records shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery or be admissible in any criminal or civil proceeding. If available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the Team during a child death review. Further, the findings of the Team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form which shall not identify individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual child death cases are discussed by the Team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. In addition to the requirements of § 2.2-3712, all team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting information and records on specific child deaths to the Team during closed meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed meeting to review a specific child death. Violations of this subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

D. Upon notification of a child death, any state or local government agency maintaining records on such child or such child's family which are periodically purged shall retain such records for the longer of 12 months or until such time as the State Child Fatality Review Team has completed its child death review of the specific case.

E. The Team shall compile annual data which shall be made available to the Governor and the General Assembly as requested. These statistical data compilations shall not contain any personally identifying information and shall be public records.

1994, c. 643; 1995, c. 499; 1999, cc. 703, 726; 2004, c. 690; 2007, c. 411; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2014, c. 583; 2017, c. 778.

A. Upon the initiative of any local or regional law-enforcement agency, fire department, department of social services, emergency medical services agency, attorney for the Commonwealth's office, or community services board, local or regional child fatality teams may be established for the purpose of conducting contemporaneous reviews of local child deaths in order to develop interventions and strategies for prevention specific to the locality or region. Each team shall establish rules and procedures to govern the review process. Agencies may share information but shall be bound by confidentiality and execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information they share. Violations are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. The State Child Fatality Review Team shall provide technical assistance and direction as provided for in subsection A of § 32.1-283.1.

B. Local and regional teams may be composed of the following persons from the localities represented on a particular board or their designees: a medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282, a local social services official in charge of child protective services, a director of the relevant local or district health department, a chief law-enforcement officer, a local fire marshal, a local emergency medical services agency chief, the attorney for the Commonwealth, an executive director of the local community services board or other local mental health agency, and such additional persons, not to exceed four, as may be appointed to serve by the chairperson of the local or regional team. The chairperson shall be elected from among the designated membership. The additional members appointed by the chairperson may include, but are not restricted to, representatives of local human services agencies; local public education agencies; local pediatricians, psychiatrists and psychologists; and local child advocacy organizations.

C. Each team shall establish local rules and procedures to govern the review process prior to conducting the first child fatality review. The review of a death shall be delayed until any criminal investigations connected with the death are completed or the Commonwealth consents to the commencement of such review prior to the completion of the criminal investigation.

D. All information and records obtained or created regarding the review of a fatality shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the team only in the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. Such information or records shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, or discovery or be admissible in any criminal or civil proceeding. If available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune from subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, discovery or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the team during a fatality review. No person who participated in the reviews nor any member of the team shall be required to make any statement as to what transpired during the review or what information was collected during the review. Upon the conclusion of the fatality review, all information and records concerning the victim and the family shall be returned to the originating agency or destroyed. However, the findings of the team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form which shall not identify individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual cases are discussed by the team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. All team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting information and records on specific fatalities to the team during closed meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed meeting to review a specific death. Violations of this subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

E. Members of teams, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in a child fatality review team review, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports or records to review teams as part of such review, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

1999, c. 867; 2004, c. 690; 2014, c. 583; 2015, cc. 502, 503; 2017, c. 778.

A. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall develop a model protocol for the development and implementation of local family violence fatality review teams (teams) and such model protocol shall include relevant procedures for conducting reviews of fatal family violence incidents. A "fatal family violence incident" means any fatality that occurred or that is suspected of having occurred in the context of abuse between family members or intimate partners. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall provide technical assistance to the local teams and serve as a clearinghouse for information.

B. Subject to available funding, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall provide ongoing surveillance of fatal family violence occurrences and promulgate an annual report based on accumulated data.

C. Any county or city, or combination of counties, cities, or counties and cities, may establish a family violence fatality review team to examine fatal family violence incidents and to create a body of information to help prevent future family violence fatalities. The team shall have the authority to review the facts and circumstances of all fatal family violence incidents that occur within its designated geographic area.

D. Membership in the team may include, but shall not be limited to, health care professionals, representatives from the local bar, attorneys for the Commonwealth, judges, law-enforcement officials, criminologists, medical examiners appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282, other experts in forensic medicine and pathology, family violence victim advocates, health department professionals, probation and parole professionals, adult and child protective services professionals, and representatives of family violence local coordinating councils.

E. Each team shall establish local rules and procedures to govern the review process prior to the first fatal family violence incident review conducted. The review of a death shall be delayed until any criminal investigations or prosecutions connected with the death are completed.

F. All information and records obtained or created regarding the review of a fatality shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the team only in the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. Such information or records shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum or discovery or be admissible in any criminal or civil proceeding. If available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune from subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, discovery or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the team during a fatality review. No person who participated in the review nor any member of the team shall be required to make any statement as to what transpired during the review or what information was collected during the review. Upon the conclusion of the fatality review, all information and records concerning the victim and the family shall be returned to the originating agency or destroyed. However, the findings of the team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form which shall not identify individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual cases are discussed by the team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. All team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting information and records on specific fatalities to the team during closed meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed meeting to review a specific death. Violations of this subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

G. Members of teams, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in a family violence fatality review, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports or records to review teams as part of such review, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

1999, cc. 849, 868; 2014, c. 583; 2016, c. 307; 2017, c. 778.

A. Confidential records and information obtained from private and public entities and provided to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during the course of a death investigation shall remain confidential and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.).

B. Information and records concerning a decedent collected and maintained by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner during the course of surveillance programs or research or studies of deaths having public health importance shall be confidential and may only be published in summary or aggregate form or as authorized by the Chief Medical Examiner.

C. The confidential records and information set forth in subsections A and B shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, or discovery when in the possession of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, or be admissible in any criminal or civil proceeding through any discovery relating to the Office. If available from other sources, however, such records and information shall not be immune from subpoena duces tecum, or discovery when obtained through such other sources solely because the records and information were presented to the Office during a death investigation.

D. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure or publication of the findings of investigations, surveillance programs, research, and studies in aggregate or statistical form from which personal identifiers have been removed.

2005, c. 37; 2007, c. 868.

A. There is hereby created the Adult Fatality Review Team, referred to in this section as "the Team," which shall develop and implement procedures to ensure that adult deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematic way. The Team shall review the death of any person age 60 years or older, or any adult age 18 years or older who is incapacitated, who resides in the Commonwealth, or who does not reside in the Commonwealth but who is temporarily in the Commonwealth and who is in need of temporary or emergency protective services (i) who was the subject of an adult protective services or law-enforcement investigation; (ii) whose death was due to abuse, neglect, or exploitation or acts suggesting abuse, neglect, or exploitation; or (iii) whose death came under the jurisdiction of or was investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to § 32.1-283. The Team shall not initiate an adult death review until the conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or criminal prosecution. The operating procedures for the review of adult deaths shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 17 of § 2.2-4002.

B. The 16-member team shall consist of the following persons or their designees: the Chief Medical Examiner, the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, the Director of the Office of Licensure and Certification of the Department of Health, and the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman. In addition, the Governor shall appoint one representative from each of the following entities: a licensed funeral services provider, the Medical Society of Virginia, and local departments of social services, emergency medical services, attorneys for the Commonwealth, law-enforcement agencies, nurses specializing in geriatric care, psychiatrists specializing in geriatric care, and long-term care providers. The Team further shall include two members appointed by the Governor who are advocates for elderly or disabled populations in Virginia. The Chief Medical Examiner shall serve as chair of the Team.

After the initial staggering of terms, members appointed by the Governor shall be appointed for a term of four years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed. The Chief Medical Examiner and other ex officio members of the Team shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office.

C. Upon the request of the chair of the Team, made after the conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or prosecution, information and records regarding an adult whose death is being reviewed by the Team shall be inspected and copied by the chair or his designee, including but not limited to any report of the circumstances of the event maintained by any state or local law-enforcement agency or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and information or records on the adult maintained by any facility that provided services to the adult, by any social services agency, or by any court. Information, records, or reports maintained by any attorney for the Commonwealth shall be made available for inspection and copying by the chair or his designee pursuant to procedures that shall be developed by the Chief Medical Examiner and the Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council established by § 2.2-2617. In addition, a health care provider shall provide the Team, upon request, with access to the health and mental health records of (i) the adult whose death is subject to review, without authorization; (ii) any adult relative of the deceased, with authorization; and (iii) any minor child of the deceased, with the authorization of the minor's parent or guardian. The chair of the Team also may copy and inspect the presentence report, prepared pursuant to § 19.2-299, of any person convicted of a crime that led to the death of the adult who is the subject of review by the Team.

D. All information obtained or generated by the Team regarding a review shall be confidential and excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. Such information shall not be subject to subpoena or discovery or be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding. If available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the Team during an adult death review. The Team shall compile all information collected during a review. The findings of the Team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form, but shall not identify any individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual adult death cases are discussed by the Team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711.

E. All Team members and other persons attending closed Team meetings, including any persons presenting information or records on specific fatalities, shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during meetings at which the Team reviews a specific death. No Team member or other person who participates in a review shall be required to make any statement regarding the review or any information collected during the review. Upon conclusion of a review, all information and records concerning the victim and the family shall be shredded or otherwise destroyed in order to ensure confidentiality. Violations of this subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

F. Upon notification of an adult death, any state or local government agency or facility that provided services to the adult or maintained records on the adult or the adult's family shall retain the records for the longer of 12 months or until such time as the Team has completed its review of the case.

G. The Team shall compile an annual report by October 1 of each year that shall be made available to the Governor and the General Assembly. The annual report shall include any policy, regulatory, or budgetary recommendations developed by the Team. Any statistical compilations prepared by the Team shall be public record and shall not contain any personally identifying information.

2008, c. 539; 2009, cc. 813, 840; 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2014, c. 583; 2015, c. 108; 2017, c. 778.

A. Upon the initiative of any local or regional law-enforcement agency, department of social services, emergency medical services agency, attorney for the Commonwealth's office, community services board, or official with the Adult Protective Services Unit established pursuant to § 51.5-148, local or regional adult fatality review teams may be established for the purpose of conducting contemporaneous reviews of local adult deaths in order to develop interventions and strategies for prevention specific to the locality or region. For the purposes of this section, the team may review the death of any person age 60 years or older, or any adult age 18 years or older who is incapacitated, who resides in the Commonwealth and who is in need of temporary or emergency protective services (i) who was the subject of an adult protective services or law-enforcement investigation; (ii) whose death was due to abuse, neglect, or exploitation or acts suggesting abuse, neglect, or exploitation; or (iii) whose death came under the jurisdiction of or was investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner as occurring in any suspicious, unusual, or unnatural manner, pursuant to § 32.1-283. Each team shall establish rules and procedures to govern the review process. Agencies may share information but shall be bound by confidentiality and execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information they share. A violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall develop a model protocol for the development and implementation of local or regional adult fatality review teams and such model protocol shall include relevant procedures for conducting reviews of adult fatalities.

B. Local and regional teams may be composed of the following persons from the localities represented on a particular board or their designees: a medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282, a local adult protective services official, a local social services official, a director of the relevant local or district health department, an executive director of the local area agency on aging or other department representing the interests of the elderly or disabled, a chief law-enforcement officer, the attorney for the Commonwealth, an executive director of the local community services board or other local mental health agency, a local judge, and such additional persons as may be appointed to serve by the chair of the local or regional team. The chair shall be elected from among the designated membership. The additional members appointed by the chair may include, but are not restricted to, representatives of local human services agencies, local health care professionals specializing in geriatric care or care of incapacitated adults, local emergency medical services personnel, local long-term care providers, representatives of local advocacy or service organizations for elderly or disabled populations, experts in forensic medicine and pathology, local funeral services providers, local centers for independent living, local long-term care ombudsmen, and representatives of the local bar.

C. Each local or regional team shall establish operating procedures to govern the review process prior to conducting the first adult fatality review. The review of a death shall be delayed until any criminal investigations connected with the death are completed or the Commonwealth consents to the commencement of such review prior to the completion of the criminal investigation.

D. All information and records obtained or created regarding a review of a fatality shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the team only in the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. Such information and records shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the team during the fatality review. No person who participated in the review and no member of the team shall be required to make any statement as to what transpired during the review or what information was collected during the review. Upon the conclusion of the fatality review, all information and records concerning the victim and family shall be returned to the originating agency or destroyed. However, the findings of the team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form that does not identify any individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual cases are discussed by the team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. All team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting information and records on specific fatalities to the team during closed meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed meeting to review a specific death. A violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

E. Members of teams, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in an adult fatality review team review, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports, or records to review teams as part of such review shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

2015, c. 108; 2017, c. 778.

A. Any county or city, or combination of counties, cities, or counties and cities, may establish a local or regional overdose fatality review team for the purpose of (i) conducting contemporaneous reviews of local overdose deaths, (ii) promoting cooperation and coordination among agencies involved in investigations of overdose deaths or in providing services to surviving family members, (iii) developing an understanding of the causes and incidence of overdose deaths in the locality, (iv) developing plans for and recommending changes within the agencies represented on the local team to prevent overdose deaths, and (v) advising the Department and other relevant state agencies on changes to law, policy, or practice to prevent overdose deaths.

B. A local or regional team may review the death of any person who resides in the Commonwealth and whose death was or is suspected to be due to overdose. Each team shall establish rules and procedures to govern the review process. Agencies may share information but shall be bound by confidentiality and execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information they share. A violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may develop a model protocol for the development and implementation of local or regional overdose fatality review teams, and such model protocol may include relevant procedures for conducting reviews of overdose fatalities.

C. Local and regional teams may be composed of the following persons from the localities represented on a particular board or their designees: a medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282, a local social services official, a director of the relevant local or district health department, a chief law-enforcement officer, an attorney for the Commonwealth, an executive director of the local community services board or other local mental health agency, a local judge, the local school division superintendent, a representative of a local jail or detention center, and such additional persons as may be appointed to serve by the chair of the local or regional team. The chair shall be elected from among the designated membership. The additional members appointed by the chair may include representatives of local human services agencies, local health care professionals who specialize in the prevention and treatment of substance abuse disorders, local emergency medical services personnel, a representative of a hospital, experts in forensic medicine and pathology, local funeral services providers, and representatives of the local bar.

D. Each local or regional team shall establish operating procedures to govern the review process prior to conducting the first overdose fatality review. The review of a death shall be delayed until any criminal investigations connected with the death are completed or the Commonwealth consents to the commencement of such review prior to the completion of the criminal investigation.

E. All information and records obtained or created regarding a review of a fatality shall be confidential and shall be excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the team only in the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. Such information and records shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the team during the fatality review. No person who participated in the review and no member of the team shall be required to make any statement as to what transpired during the review or what information was collected during the review. Upon the conclusion of the fatality review, all information and records concerning the victim and family shall be returned to the originating agency or destroyed. However, the findings of the team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form that does not identify any individuals. The portions of meetings in which individual cases are discussed by the team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. All team members, persons attending closed team meetings, and persons presenting information and records on specific fatalities to the team during closed meetings shall execute a sworn statement to honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during any closed meeting to review a specific death. A violation of this subsection is punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

F. Members of teams, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in an overdose fatality review team review, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports, or records to overdose fatality review teams as part of such review shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

2018, c. 600.

A. As used in this section, "maternal death" means the death of a woman who was pregnant at the time of death or within one year prior to the time of death, regardless of the outcome of the pregnancy, including any death determined to be a natural death, unnatural death, or violent death or for which no cause of death was determined.

B. There is hereby created the Maternal Mortality Review Team (the Team), which shall develop and implement procedures to ensure that certain maternal deaths occurring in the Commonwealth are analyzed in a systematic way. The Team shall review every maternal death in the Commonwealth. The Team shall not initiate a maternal death review until the conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or criminal prosecution. The Team shall (i) develop and revise as necessary operating procedures for maternal death reviews, including identification of cases to be reviewed and procedures for coordinating among the agencies and professionals involved; (ii) improve the identification of and data collection and record keeping related to causes of maternal deaths; (iii) recommend components of programs to increase awareness and prevention of and education about maternal deaths; and (iv) recommend training to improve the review of maternal deaths. Such operating procedures shall be exempt from the Administrative Process Act (§ 2.2-4000 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision B 17 of § 2.2-4002.

C. The Team shall consist of the following persons or their designees: the Chief Medical Examiner, the Director of the Office of Family Health of the Department of Health, the State Registrar of Vital Records, and the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. In addition, the Governor shall appoint one representative of each of the following entities: local law enforcement, local fire departments, local emergency medical services providers, local departments of social services, community services boards, attorneys for the Commonwealth, the Medical Society of Virginia, the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association, the Virginia College of Emergency Physicians, the Virginia Section of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Virginia Affiliate of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, the Virginia Chapter of the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses, the Virginia Neonatal Perinatal Collaborative, the Virginia Midwives Alliance, the Virginia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Department of Corrections, and the State Board of Local and Regional Jails. The Chief Medical Examiner and the Director of the Office of Family Health of the Department of Health shall serve as co-chairs of the Team and may appoint additional members of the Team as may be needed to complete maternal death reviews pursuant to this section.

After the initial staggering of terms, members other than the Chief Medical Examiner, the Director of the Office of Family Health of the Department of Health, the State Registrar of Vital Records, the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall be appointed for a term of three years. Appointments to fill vacancies, other than by expiration of a term, shall be for the unexpired terms. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointments. All members may be reappointed. The Chief Medical Examiner, the Director of the Office of Family Health of the Department of Health, the State Registrar of Vital Records, the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, and the Director of the Department of Criminal Justice Services shall serve terms coincident with their terms of office.

D. Upon the request of the Chief Medical Examiner in his capacity as a co-chair of the Team, made after the conclusion of any law-enforcement investigation or prosecution, the Chief Medical Examiner or his designee may inspect and copy information and records regarding a maternal death, including (i) any report of the circumstances of the maternal death maintained by any state or local law-enforcement agency or medical examiner, and (ii) information or records about the woman maintained by any social services agency or court. Information, records, or reports maintained by any attorney for the Commonwealth shall be made available for inspection and copying by the Chief Medical Examiner or his designee pursuant to procedures that shall be developed by the Chief Medical Examiner and the Commonwealth's Attorneys' Services Council established by § 2.2-2617. Any presentence report prepared pursuant to § 19.2-299 for any person convicted of a crime that led to the death of the woman shall be made available for inspection and copying by the Chief Medical Examiner or his designee. In addition, the Chief Medical Examiner or his designee may inspect and copy from any health care provider in the Commonwealth, on behalf of the Team, (a) without obtaining consent, subject to any limitations on disclosure under applicable federal and state law, the health and mental health records of the woman and those prenatal medical records relating to any child born to the woman and (b) upon obtaining consent, from each adult regarding his records.

E. All information and records obtained or created by the Team or on behalf of the Team regarding a review shall be confidential and excluded from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (§ 2.2-3700 et seq.) pursuant to subdivision 7 of § 2.2-3705.5. All such information and records shall be used by the Team only in the exercise of its proper purpose and function and shall not be disclosed. In preparing information and records for review by the Team, the Department shall remove any individually identifiable information or information identifying a health care provider, as those terms are defined in 45 C.F.R. § 160.103. Such information shall not be subject to subpoena, subpoena duces tecum, or discovery, be admissible in any civil or criminal proceeding, or be used as evidence in any disciplinary proceeding or regulatory or licensure action of the Department of Health Professions or any health regulatory board. If available from other sources, however, such information and records shall not be immune from subpoena, discovery, or introduction into evidence when obtained through such other sources solely because the information and records were presented to the Team during a maternal death review. The findings of the Team may be disclosed or published in statistical or other form, but shall not identify any individual. Upon conclusion of the maternal death review, all information and records concerning the woman and the woman's family shall be shredded or otherwise destroyed by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in order to ensure confidentiality.

The portions of meetings in which individual maternal deaths are discussed by the Team shall be closed pursuant to subdivision A 21 of § 2.2-3711. In addition to the requirements of § 2.2-3712, all Team members and other persons attending closed Team meetings, including any persons presenting information or records on specific maternal deaths to the Team during closed meetings, shall execute a sworn statement to (i) honor the confidentiality of the information, records, discussions, and opinions disclosed during meetings at which the Team reviews a specific maternal death and (ii) not use any such information, records, discussions, or opinions disclosed during meetings at which the Team reviews a specific maternal death for any purpose other than the exercise of the proper purpose and function of the Team. Violations of this subsection are punishable as a Class 3 misdemeanor.

F. Upon notification of a maternal death, any state or local government agency maintaining records on the woman or the woman's family that are periodically purged shall retain such records for the longer of 12 months or until such time as the Team has completed its review of the case.

G. The Team shall compile annual statistical data, which shall be made available to the Governor and the General Assembly. Any statistical compilations prepared by the Team shall be public record and shall not contain any personal identifying information.

H. Members of the Team, as well as their agents and employees, shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission made in connection with participation in a review by the Team, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Any organization, institution, or person furnishing information, data, testimony, reports, or records to the Team as part of such review shall be immune from civil liability for any act or omission in furnishing such information, unless such act or omission was the result of gross negligence or willful misconduct.

2019, c. 834; 2023, c. 369; 2024, c. 376.

Repealed by acts 2014, c. 228, cl. 2, effective March 7, 2014.

A. If, in the opinion of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, it is advisable and in the public interest that an autopsy be made as part of the investigation of the death, or if an autopsy is requested by the attorney for the Commonwealth or by a judge of the circuit court of the county or city wherein such body is or where death occurred or wherein any injury contributing to or causing death was sustained, or if the decedent is an inmate in the custody of the Department of Corrections, an autopsy shall be performed by the Chief Medical Examiner, an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or a pathologist with whom the Commissioner has entered into an agreement in accordance with § 32.1-281. Upon petition of a member of the immediate family or the spouse of the deceased in a case of death by injury, such circuit court may, for good cause shown, order an autopsy, after providing notice and an opportunity to be heard to the attorney for the Commonwealth for the jurisdiction wherein the injury contributing to or causing death was sustained or where death occurred. Further, in all cases of death suspected to be attributable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), an autopsy shall be advisable and in the public interest and shall be performed as required by § 32.1-285.1. A full record and report of the facts developed by the autopsy and findings of the person making such autopsy shall be promptly made and filed with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a copy furnished the judge or attorney for the Commonwealth requesting such autopsy. In the discretion of the Chief Medical Examiner or an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, a copy of any autopsy report or findings may be furnished to any appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth and to the appropriate law-enforcement agency investigating the death.

B. In the case of a child death investigation that indicates child abuse or neglect contributed to the death, or that the child suffered from abuse and neglect, the case shall be immediately reported to the child protective services unit of the local Department of Social Services by the Chief Medical Examiner, an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or a medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282.

Code 1950, § 32-31.19; 1952, c. 318; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 1989, c. 66; 1991, c. 644; 1993, c. 965; 2003, c. 368; 2014, c. 583; 2023, cc. 477, 478.

An autopsy shall be performed in the case of any infant death which is suspected to be attributable to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).

For the purposes of this section, "Sudden Infant Death Syndrome" (SIDS), a diagnosis of exclusion, means the sudden and unexpected death of an infant less than eighteen months of age whose death remains unexplained after a thorough postmortem examination which includes an autopsy.

1993, c. 965.

A. In any case of death described in subsection A of § 32.1-283, where the body is buried without investigation by the Chief Medical Examiner, an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or a medical examiner appointed pursuant to § 32.1-282 into the cause and manner of death or where sufficient cause develops for further investigation after a body is buried, the Chief Medical Examiner shall authorize such investigation and shall send a copy of the report, which shall include the name and contact information of the next of kin, as defined in § 54.1-2800, of the dead person, if known, to the appropriate attorney for the Commonwealth who shall communicate such report to a judge of the appropriate circuit court and forward a copy of such report to the clerk of such court. In cases in which the name and contact information of the next of kin is not known at the time the report is prepared, the Chief Medical Examiner shall so indicate on the report. Upon receipt of such report, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the investigation and any order of exhumation to the next of kin of the dead person when the name and contact information of the next of kin is included in the report. The judge may order that the body be exhumed and an autopsy performed thereon by the Chief Medical Examiner, an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner, or a pathologist with whom the Commissioner has entered into an agreement pursuant to § 32.1-281. The pertinent facts disclosed by an autopsy conducted pursuant to an order entered in accordance with this subsection shall be communicated to the judge who ordered the autopsy.

B. Upon petition of the attorney for the Commonwealth to whom a report is submitted in accordance with subsection A and a finding that good cause exists, a judge for the appropriate circuit court may, for a period of time not to exceed ninety days, order that (i) notification of the next of kin of the dead person be withheld, (ii) the report and order for exhumation be sealed by the clerk of the circuit court, and (iii) any parties involved in the investigation or exhumation not disclose to the next of kin of the dead person or any other person that the court may deem appropriate that the investigation or exhumation has occurred. Upon the petition of the attorney for the Commonwealth and a finding that good cause exists, the court may extend any such time period for additional periods not to exceed ninety days for each extension granted.

C. In any case of death in which a private person has an interest, such person may petition the judge of the circuit court exercising jurisdiction over the place of interment to have the body exhumed. Such petition shall include the name and contact information of the next of kin of the dead person or, in cases in which the name and contact information is not known, an affirmation that good faith efforts to determine the name and contact information have been made. Upon receipt of the petition, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the petition to the next of kin of the dead person when the name and contact information of the next of kin is included in the petition. Upon proper showing of sufficient cause, such judge may order the body exhumed. Such petition or exhumation or both shall not require the participation of the Chief Medical Examiner or any Assistant Chief Medical Examiner. Costs shall be paid by the party requesting the exhumation.

D. A party attempting to prove, in accordance with the provisions of §§ 64.2-102 and 64.2-103, that he is the issue of a dead person, may petition the judge of the circuit court exercising jurisdiction over the place of interment to have the body exhumed. The petition shall be accompanied by the petitioner's sworn statement that sets forth facts establishing a reasonable possibility of a biological relationship between the petitioner and his alleged ancestors, and shall include the name and contact information of the next of kin of the dead person or, in cases in which the name and contact information is not known, an affirmation that good faith efforts to determine the name and contact information have been made. Upon receipt of the petition, the clerk of the court shall send notice of the petition to the next of kin of the dead person when the name and contact information of the next of kin is included in the petition. The court may order the exhumation of the dead person for the conduct of scientifically reliable genetic tests, including DNA tests, to prove a biological relationship. The costs of exhumation, testing, and reinterment shall be paid by the petitioner unless, for good cause shown, the court orders such costs paid from the estate in which the petitioner is claiming an interest. This provision is intended to provide a procedural mechanism for obtaining posthumous samples for reliable genetic testing and shall not require substantive proof of parentage to obtain the exhumation order.

Code 1950, § 32-31.19; 1952, c. 318; 1960, c. 366; 1975, c. 475; 1979, c. 711; 1997, c. 59; 1999, c. 781; 2013, c. 370; 2014, c. 583; 2016, c. 356.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2014, c. 228, cl. 2, effective March 7, 2014.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2007, c. 92, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 465, cl. 2, effective July 1, 2021.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2008, c. 82, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

This Act consists of §§ 32.1-291.1 through 32.1-291.25 and may be cited as the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

As used in this Act, unless the context requires otherwise:

"Adult" means an individual who is at least 18 years of age.

"Agent" means an individual:

1. Authorized to make health-care decisions on the principal's behalf by a power of attorney for health care; or

2. Expressly authorized to make an anatomical gift on the principal's behalf by any other record signed by the principal.

"Anatomical gift" means a donation of all or part of a human body to take effect after the donor's death for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

"Decedent" means a deceased individual whose body or part is or may be the source of an anatomical gift. The term includes a stillborn infant and, subject to restrictions imposed by law other than this Act, a fetus.

"Disinterested witness" means a witness other than the spouse, child, parent, sibling, grandchild, grandparent, or guardian of the individual who makes, amends, revokes, or refuses to make an anatomical gift, or another adult who exhibited special care and concern for the individual. The term does not include a person to whom an anatomical gift could pass under § 32.1-291.11.

"Document of gift" means a donor card or other record used to make an anatomical gift. The term includes a statement or symbol on a driver's license, identification card, or donor registry.

"Donor" means an individual whose body or part is the subject of an anatomical gift.

"Donor registry" means a database that contains records of anatomical gifts.

"Driver's license" means a license or other document issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles under Chapter 3 (§ 46.2-300 et seq.) of Title 46.2 authorizing the operation of a motor vehicle upon the highways, whether or not conditions are attached to the license or other document.

"Eye bank" means a person that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of human eyes or portions of human eyes and that is a member of the Virginia Transplant Council, accredited by the Eye Bank Association of America or the American Association of Tissue Banks and operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Guardian" means a person appointed by a court to make decisions regarding the support, care, education, health, or welfare of an individual. The term does not include a guardian ad litem, except when the guardian ad litem is authorized by a court to consent to donation.

"Hospital" means a facility licensed as a hospital under the law of any state or a facility operated as a hospital by the United States, a state, or a subdivision of a state.

"Identification card" means an identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles under Chapter 3 (§ 46.2-300 et seq.) of Title 46.2.

"Know" means to have actual knowledge.

"Minor" means an individual who is under 18 years of age.

"Organ procurement organization" means a person designated by the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services as an organ procurement organization that is also a member of the Virginia Transplant Council.

"Parent" means a parent whose parental rights have not been terminated.

"Part" means an organ, an eye, or tissue of a human being. The term does not include the whole body.

"Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, or any other legal or commercial entity.

"Physician" means an individual authorized to practice medicine or osteopathy under the law of any state.

"Procurement organization" means an eye bank, organ procurement organization, or tissue bank that is a member of the Virginia Transplant Council.

"Prospective donor" means an individual who is dead or whose death is imminent and has been determined by a procurement organization to have a part that could be medically suitable for transplantation, therapy, research, or education. The term does not include an individual who has made a refusal.

"Reasonably available" means able to be contacted by a procurement organization without undue effort and willing and able to act in a timely manner consistent with existing medical criteria necessary for the making of an anatomical gift.

"Recipient" means an individual into whose body a decedent's part has been or is intended to be transplanted.

"Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

"Refusal" means a record created under § 32.1-291.7 that expressly states an intent to bar other persons from making an anatomical gift of an individual's body or part.

"Sign" means, with the present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

1. To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

2. To attach to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol, sound, or process.

"State" means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

"Technician" means an individual determined to be qualified to remove or process parts by an appropriate organization that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law. The term includes an enucleator.

"Tissue" means a portion of the human body other than an organ or an eye. The term does not include blood unless the blood is donated for the purpose of research or education.

"Tissue bank" means a person that is licensed, accredited, or regulated under federal or state law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage, or distribution of tissue and that is a member of the Virginia Transplant Council, accredited by the American Association of Tissue Banks, and operating in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

"Transplant hospital" means a hospital that furnishes organ transplants and other medical and surgical specialty services required for the care of transplant patients.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2020, cc. 1227, 1246.

This Act applies to an anatomical gift or amendment to, revocation of, or refusal to make an anatomical gift, whenever made.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

Subject to § 32.1-291.8, an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part may be made during the life of the donor for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education in the manner provided in § 32.1-291.5 by:

1. The donor, if the donor is an adult or if the donor is a minor and is:

a. Emancipated; or

b. Authorized under state law to apply for a driver's license because the donor is at least 15 years and six months of age;

2. An agent of the donor, unless the power of attorney for health care or other record prohibits the agent from making an anatomical gift;

3. A parent of the donor, if the donor is an unemancipated minor; or

4. The donor's guardian.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. A donor may make an anatomical gift:

1. By authorizing a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift to be imprinted on the donor's driver's license or identification card;

2. In a will;

3. During a terminal illness or injury of the donor, by any form of communication addressed to at least two adults; or

4. As provided in subsection B.

B. A donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.4 may make a gift by a donor card or other record signed by the donor or other person making the gift or by authorizing that a statement or symbol indicating that the donor has made an anatomical gift be included on a donor registry. If the donor or other person is physically unable to sign a record, the record may be signed by another individual at the direction of the donor or other person and shall:

1. Be witnessed by at least two adults, who have signed at the request of the donor or the other person; and

2. State that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subdivision 1.

C. Revocation, suspension, expiration, or cancellation of a driver's license or identification card upon which an anatomical gift is indicated does not invalidate the gift.

D. An anatomical gift made by will takes effect upon the donor's death whether or not the will is probated. Invalidation of the will after the donor's death does not invalidate the gift.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. Subject to § 32.1-291.8, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.4 may amend or revoke an anatomical gift by:

1. A record signed by:

a. The donor;

b. The other person; or

c. Subject to subsection B, another individual acting at the direction of the donor or the other person if the donor or other person is physically unable to sign; or

2. Later-executed document of gift that amends or revokes a previous anatomical gift or portion of an anatomical gift, either expressly or by inconsistency.

B. A record signed pursuant to subdivision A 1 c shall:

1. Be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the donor or the other person; and

2. State that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subdivision 1.

C. Subject to § 32.1-291.8, a donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.4 may revoke an anatomical gift by the destruction or cancellation of the document of gift, or the portion of the document of gift used to make the gift, with the intent to revoke the gift.

D. A donor may amend or revoke an anatomical gift that was not made in a will by any form of communication during a terminal illness or injury addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.

E. A donor who makes an anatomical gift in a will may amend or revoke the gift in the manner provided for amendment or revocation of wills or as provided in subsection A.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part by:

1. A record signed by:

a. The individual; or

b. Subject to subsection B, another individual acting at the direction of the individual if the individual is physically unable to sign;

2. The individual's will, whether or not the will is admitted to probate or invalidated after the individual's death; or

3. Any form of communication made by the individual during the individual's terminal illness or injury addressed to at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness.

B. A record signed pursuant to subdivision A 1 b shall:

1. Be witnessed by at least two adults, at least one of whom is a disinterested witness, who have signed at the request of the individual; and

2. State that it has been signed and witnessed as provided in subdivision 1.

C. An individual who has made a refusal may amend or revoke the refusal:

1. In the manner provided in subsection A for making a refusal;

2. By subsequently making an anatomical gift pursuant to § 32.1-291.5 that is inconsistent with the refusal; or

3. By destroying or canceling the record evidencing the refusal, or the portion of the record used to make the refusal, with the intent to revoke the refusal.

D. Except as otherwise provided in subsection H of § 32.1-291.8, in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the individual set forth in the refusal, an individual's unrevoked refusal to make an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part bars all other persons from making an anatomical gift of the individual's body or part.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. Except as otherwise provided in subsection G and subject to subsection F, in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor, a person other than the donor is barred from making, amending, or revoking an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part if the donor made an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.5 or an amendment to an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.6.

B. A donor's revocation of an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.6 is not a refusal and does not bar another person specified in § 32.1-291.4 or 32.1-291.9 from making an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.5 or 32.1-291.10.

C. If a person other than the donor makes an unrevoked anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.5 or an amendment to an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.6, another person may not make, amend, or revoke the gift of the donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.10.

D. A revocation of an anatomical gift of a donor's body or part under § 32.1-291.6 by a person other than the donor does not bar another person from making an anatomical gift of the body or part under § 32.1-291.5 or 32.1-291.10.

E. In the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.4, an anatomical gift of a part is neither a refusal to give another part nor a limitation on the making of an anatomical gift of another part at a later time by the donor or another person.

F. In the absence of an express, contrary indication by the donor or other person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.4, an anatomical gift of a part for one or more of the purposes set forth in § 32.1-291.4 is not a limitation on the making of an anatomical gift of the part for any of the other purposes by the donor or any other person under § 32.1-291.5 or 32.1-291.10.

G. If a donor who is an unemancipated minor dies, a parent of the donor who is reasonably available may revoke or amend an anatomical gift of the donor's body or part.

H. If an unemancipated minor who signed a refusal dies, a parent of the minor who is reasonably available may revoke the minor's refusal.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. Subject to subsections B and C and unless barred by § 32.1-291.7 or 32.1-291.8, an anatomical gift of a decedent's body or part for purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education may be made by any member of the following classes of persons who is reasonably available, in the order of priority listed:

1. An agent of the decedent at the time of death who could have made an anatomical gift under subdivision 2 of § 32.1-291.4 immediately before the decedent's death;

2. The persons who were acting as the guardians of the person of the decedent at the time of death;

3. The spouse of the decedent;

4. Adult children of the decedent;

5. Parents of the decedent;

6. Adult siblings of the decedent;

7. Adult grandchildren of the decedent;

8. Grandparents of the decedent;

9. An adult who exhibited special care and concern for the decedent; and

10. Any other person having the authority to dispose of the decedent's body.

B. If there is more than one member of a class listed in subdivisions A 1, A 2, A 4, A 5, A 6, A 7, or A 8 entitled to make an anatomical gift, an anatomical gift may be made by a member of the class unless that member or a person to which the gift may pass under § 32.1-291.11 knows of an objection by another member of the class. If an objection is known, the gift may be made only by those members who constitute at least 50 percent of the class who are reasonably available.

C. A person may not make an anatomical gift if, at the time of the decedent's death, a person in a prior class under subsection A is reasonably available to make or to object to the making of an anatomical gift.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. A person authorized to make an anatomical gift under § 32.1-291.9 may make an anatomical gift by a document of gift signed by the person making the gift or by that person's oral communication that is electronically recorded or is contemporaneously reduced to a record and signed by the individual receiving the oral communication.

B. Subject to subsection C, an anatomical gift by a person authorized under § 32.1-291.9 may be amended or revoked orally or in a record by any member of a prior class who is reasonably available. If more than one member of the prior class is reasonably available, the gift made by a person authorized under § 32.1-291.9 may be:

1. Amended only if a majority of the reasonably available members agree to the amending of the gift; or

2. Revoked only if a majority of the reasonably available members agree to the revoking of the gift.

C. A revocation under subsection B is effective only if, before an incision has been made to remove a part from the donor's body or before invasive procedures have begun to prepare the recipient, the procurement organization, transplant hospital, or physician or technician knows of the revocation.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. An anatomical gift may be made to the following persons named in the document of gift:

1. A hospital; accredited medical school, dental school, or institution of higher education; organ procurement organization; or other appropriate person authorized by the Virginia Transplant Council, for research or education;

2. Subject to subsection B, an individual designated by the person making the anatomical gift if the individual is the recipient of the part; or

3. An eye bank or tissue bank.

B. If an anatomical gift to an individual under subdivision A 2 cannot be transplanted into the individual, the part passes in accordance with subsection G in the absence of an express, contrary indication by the person making the anatomical gift.

C. If an anatomical gift of one or more specific parts or of all parts is made in a document of gift that does not name a person described in subsection A but identifies the purpose for which an anatomical gift may be used, the following rules apply:

1. If the part is an eye and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate eye bank.

2. If the part is tissue and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate tissue bank.

3. If the part is an organ and the gift is for the purpose of transplantation or therapy, the gift passes to the appropriate organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.

4. If the part is an organ, an eye, or tissue and the gift is for the purpose of research or education, the gift passes to the appropriate procurement organization.

D. For the purpose of subsection C, if there is more than one purpose of an anatomical gift set forth in the document of gift but the purposes are not set forth in any priority, the gift shall be used for transplantation or therapy, if suitable. If the gift cannot be used for transplantation or therapy, the gift may be used for research or education.

E. If an anatomical gift of one or more specific parts is made in a document of gift that does not name a person described in subsection A and does not identify the purpose of the gift, the gift may be used for transplantation, therapy, research and education, and the gift passes in accordance with subsection G. The gift shall be used first for transplantation or therapy, if suitable. If the gift cannot be used for transplantation or therapy, the gift may be used for research or education.

F. If a document of gift specifies only a general intent to make an anatomical gift by words such as "donor," "organ donor," or "body donor," or by a symbol or statement of similar import, the gift may be used for transplantation, therapy, research and education and the gift passes in accordance with subsection G. The gift shall be used first for transplantation or therapy, if suitable. If the gift cannot be used for transplantation or therapy, the gift may be used for research or education.

G. For purposes of subsections B, E, and F the following rules apply:

1. If the part is an eye, the gift passes to the appropriate eye bank.

2. If the part is tissue, the gift passes to the appropriate tissue bank.

3. If the part is an organ, the gift passes to the appropriate organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.

H. An anatomical gift of an organ for transplantation, therapy, research or education other than an anatomical gift under subdivision A 2, passes to the organ procurement organization as custodian of the organ.

I. If an anatomical gift does not pass pursuant to subsections A through H or the decedent's body or part is not used for transplantation, therapy, research, or education, custody of the body or part passes to the surviving spouse, next of kin or other person under obligation to dispose of the body or part.

J. A person may not accept an anatomical gift if the person knows that the gift was not effectively made under § 32.1-291.5 or 32.1-291.10 or if the person knows that the decedent made a refusal under § 32.1-291.7 that was not revoked. For purposes of this subsection, if a person knows that an anatomical gift was made on a document of gift, the person is deemed to know of any amendment or revocation of the gift or any refusal to make an anatomical gift on the same document of gift.

K. Except as otherwise provided in subdivision A 2, nothing in this Act affects the allocation of organs for transplantation therapy, research or education.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. The following persons shall make a reasonable search of an individual who the person reasonably believes is dead or whose death is imminent 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, a firefighter, emergency medical services personnel, or other emergency rescuer finding the individual; and

2. If no other source of the information is immediately available, a hospital, as soon as practical after the individual's arrival at the hospital.

B. If a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift is located by the search required by subdivision A 1 and the individual or deceased individual to whom it relates is taken to a hospital, the person responsible for conducting the search shall send the document of gift or refusal to the hospital.

C. A person is not subject to criminal or civil liability for failing to discharge the duties imposed by this section but may be subject to administrative sanctions.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2015, cc. 502, 503.

A. A document of gift need not be delivered during the donor's lifetime to be effective.

B. Upon or after an individual's death, a person in possession of a document of gift or a refusal to make an anatomical gift with respect to the individual shall allow examination and copying of the document of gift or refusal by a person authorized to make or object to the making of an anatomical gift with respect to the individual or by a person to which the gift could pass under § 32.1-291.11.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. When a hospital refers an individual who is dead or whose death is imminent to a procurement organization, the organization shall make a reasonable search of the records of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles and any donor registry that it knows exists for the geographical area in which the individual resides to ascertain whether the individual has made an anatomical gift.

B. A procurement organization shall be allowed reasonable access to information in the records of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles to ascertain whether an individual who is dead or whose death is imminent is a donor.

C. When a hospital refers an individual who is dead or whose death is imminent to a procurement organization, the organization may conduct any reasonable examination necessary to ensure the medical suitability of a part that is or could be the subject of an anatomical gift for transplantation, therapy, research, or education from a donor or a prospective donor. During the examination period, measures necessary to ensure the medical suitability of the part may not be withdrawn unless the hospital or procurement organization knows that the individual expressed a contrary intent.

D. Unless prohibited by law other than this Act, at any time after a donor's death, the person to which a part passes under § 32.1-291.11 may conduct any reasonable examination necessary to ensure the medical suitability of the body or part for its intended purpose.

E. Unless prohibited by law other than this Act, an examination under subsection C or D may include an examination of all medical and dental records of the donor or prospective donor.

F. Upon the death of a minor who was a donor or had signed a refusal, unless a procurement organization knows the minor is emancipated, the procurement organization shall conduct a reasonable search for the parents of the minor and provide the parents with an opportunity to revoke or amend the anatomical gift or revoke the refusal.

G. Upon referral by a hospital under subsection A, a procurement organization shall make a reasonable search for any person listed in § 32.1-291.9 having priority to make an anatomical gift on behalf of a prospective donor. If a procurement organization receives information that an anatomical gift to any other person was made, amended, or revoked, it shall promptly advise the other person of all relevant information.

H. Subject to subsection I of § 32.1-291.11 and § 32.1-291.23, the rights of the person to which a part passes under § 32.1-291.11 are superior to the rights of all others with respect to the part. The person may accept or reject an anatomical gift in whole or in part. Subject to the terms of the document of gift and this Act, a person that accepts an anatomical gift of an entire body may allow embalming, burial or cremation, and use of remains in a funeral service. If the gift is of a part, the person to which the part passes under § 32.1-291.11, upon the death of the donor and before embalming, burial, or cremation, shall cause the part to be removed without unnecessary mutilation.

I. Neither the physician who attends the decedent at death nor the physician who determines the time of the decedent's death may participate in the procedures for removing or transplanting a part from the decedent.

J. A donated part from the body of a donor may be removed only by a physician or technician. The physician or technician performing the removal shall be qualified to remove the donated part from the body. For the purposes of this section, "qualified" means:

1. If the part is an organ, a physician or technician who is authorized by the appropriate organ procurement organization;

2. If the part is an eye, a physician or technician who is approved by an eye bank as qualified to perform the act of eye recovery; or

3. If the part is tissue, any physician or technician who is approved by LifeNet as qualified to perform the act of tissue recovery.

An organ procurement organization may screen, test, and recover eyes and tissue on behalf of an eye bank or tissue bank. Any person authorized by this subsection to recover organs, tissues or eyes may draw blood from the donor and order such tests as may be appropriate to protect his health and the health of the recipients of the organs, tissues or eyes.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

Each hospital in this state shall enter into agreements or affiliations with procurement organizations for coordination of procurement and use of anatomical gifts.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. With the exception of hair, ova, blood, and other self-replicating body fluids, it shall be unlawful for any person to sell, to offer to sell, to buy, to offer to buy, or to procure through purchase any natural body part for any reason including, but not limited to, medical and scientific uses such as transplantation, implantation, infusion, or injection. Any person engaging in any of these prohibited activities shall be guilty of a Class 4 felony.

B. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the reimbursement of reasonable expenses associated with the removal, processing, preservation, quality control, storage, transportation, implantation, or disposal of a part.

C. This section shall not be construed to prohibit the donation of any organs, tissues, or any natural body part, knowing that the donor is, or was, infected with a sexually transmitted infection, for use in medical or scientific research.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A, this section shall not prohibit the donation or acquisition of organs for transplantation, provided that (i) the recipient of such organ is informed that such organ is infected with human immunodeficiency virus and, following such notice, consents to the receipt of such organ and (ii) acquisition and transplantation of such organ is in compliance with the provisions of the federal HIV Organ Policy Equity Act, 42 U.S.C. § 274f-5.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 465.

A person that, in order to obtain a financial gain, intentionally falsifies, forges, conceals, defaces, or obliterates a document of gift, an amendment or revocation of a document of gift, or a refusal is guilty of a Class 4 felony.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. A person that acts in accordance with this Act or with the applicable anatomical gift law of another state, or attempts in good faith to do so, is not liable for the act in a civil action, criminal prosecution, or administrative proceeding.

B. Neither the person making an anatomical gift nor the donor's estate is liable for any injury or damage that results from the making or use of the gift.

C. In determining whether an anatomical gift has been made, amended, or revoked under this Act, a person may rely upon representations of an individual listed in subdivisions A 3, A 4, A 5, A 6, A 7, A 8, or A 9 of § 32.1-291.9 relating to the individual's relationship to the donor or prospective donor unless the person knows that the representation is untrue.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. A document of gift is valid if executed in accordance with:

1. This Act;

2. The laws of the state or country where it was executed; or

3. The laws of the state or country where the person making the anatomical gift was domiciled, has a place of residence, or was a national at the time the document of gift was executed.

B. If a document of gift is valid under this section, the law of this state governs the interpretation of the document of gift.

C. A person may presume that a document of gift or amendment of an anatomical gift is valid unless that person knows that it was not validly executed or was revoked.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

For the purposes of this Act, the donor registry is the Virginia Donor Registry established under § 32.1-292.2.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

A. In this section:

"Advance health-care directive" means an advance directive executed by a prospective donor as provided in the Health Care Decisions Act (§ 54.1-2981 et seq.).

"Declaration" means a record signed by a prospective donor specifying the circumstances under which a life support system may be withheld or withdrawn from the prospective donor.

"Health care decision" means any decision regarding the health care of the prospective donor.

B. If a prospective donor has a declaration or an advance health-care directive and the terms of the declaration or directive and the express or implied terms of a potential anatomical gift are in conflict with regard to the administration of measures necessary to ensure the medical suitability of a part for transplantation or therapy, the prospective donor's attending physician and the prospective donor shall confer to resolve the conflict. If the prospective donor is incapable of resolving the conflict, an agent acting under the prospective donor's declaration or directive, or, if there is no declaration or directive, or the agent is not reasonably available, another person authorized by law other than this Act, to make health care decisions on behalf of the prospective donor, shall act for the donor to resolve the conflict. The conflict shall be resolved as expeditiously as possible. Information relevant to the resolution of the conflict may be obtained from the appropriate procurement organization and any other person authorized to make an anatomical gift for the prospective donor under § 32.1-291.9. Before resolution of the conflict, measures necessary to ensure the medical suitability of an organ for transplantation or therapy may not be withheld or withdrawn from the prospective donor if withholding or withdrawing the measures is not contraindicated by appropriate end-of-life care.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2008, c. 82.

A. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and procurement organizations shall cooperate with each other to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

B. If the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner receives notice from a procurement organization that an anatomical gift might be available or was made with respect to a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a postmortem examination is going to be performed, unless the Chief Medical Examiner or an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner denies recovery in accordance with § 32.1-291.23, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall, when practicable, cause a postmortem examination of the body or the part to be conducted in a manner and within a period compatible with its preservation for the purposes of the gift.

C. A part may not be removed from the body of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for transplantation, therapy, research, or education unless the part is the subject of an anatomical gift. The body of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may not be delivered to a person for research or education unless the body is the subject of an anatomical gift. This subsection does not preclude the Chief Medical Examiner or an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner from performing the medicolegal autopsy upon the body or parts of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner or from using the body or parts of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the purposes of education, training, and research.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2014, c. 583.

A. Upon request of a procurement organization, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall release to the procurement organization the name, contact information, and available medical and social history of a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. If the decedent's body or part is medically suitable for transplantation, therapy, research, or education, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner shall release postmortem examination results to the procurement organization. The procurement organization may make a subsequent disclosure of the postmortem examination results or other information received from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner only if relevant to transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

B. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner may conduct a medicolegal investigation by reviewing all medical records, laboratory test results, x-rays, other diagnostic results, and other information that any person possesses about a donor or prospective donor whose body is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

C. A person that has any information requested by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pursuant to subsection B shall provide that information as expeditiously as possible to allow the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner to conduct the medicolegal investigation within a period compatible with the preservation of parts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

D. If an anatomical gift has been or might be made of a part of a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and a postmortem examination is not required, or the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner determines that a postmortem examination is required but that the recovery of the part that is the subject of an anatomical gift will not interfere with the examination, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and procurement organization shall cooperate in the timely removal of the part from the decedent for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

E. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and procurement organizations shall enter into an agreement setting forth protocols and procedures to govern relations between the parties when an anatomical gift of a part from a decedent under the jurisdiction of the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner has been or might be made, but the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner believes that the recovery of the part could interfere with the postmortem investigation into the decedent's cause or manner of death. Decisions regarding the recovery of organs, tissue and eyes from such a decedent shall be made in accordance with the agreement. In the event that an Assistant Chief Medical Examiner denies recovery of an anatomical gift, the procurement organization may request the Chief Medical Examiner to reconsider the denial and to permit the recovery to proceed. The parties shall evaluate the effectiveness of the protocols and procedures at regular intervals but no less frequently than every two years.

F. If the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner allows recovery of a part under subsection D or E, the procurement organization, upon request, shall cause the physician or technician who removes the part to provide the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner with a record describing the condition of the part, a biopsy, a photograph, and any other information and observations that would assist in the postmortem examination.

G. If the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is required to be present at a removal procedure under subsection E, upon request the procurement organization requesting the recovery of the part shall reimburse the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for the additional costs incurred in complying with subsection E.

2007, cc. 92, 907; 2014, c. 583.

In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.

2007, cc. 92, 907.

This Act modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit or supersede § 101(a) of that act, 15 U.S.C. § 7001, or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in § 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. § 7003(b).

2007, cc. 92, 907.

Repealed by Acts 1990, c. 959.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

A. In order to save lives by reducing the shortage of organs and tissues for transplantation and to implement cost savings for patients and various state agencies by eliminating needless bureaucracy, there is hereby established the Virginia Donor Registry (hereinafter referred to as the Registry), which shall be created, compiled, operated, maintained, and modified as necessary by the Virginia Transplant Council in accordance with the regulations of the Board of Health and the administration of the Department of Health. At its sole discretion, the Virginia Transplant Council may contract with a third party or parties to create, compile, operate, maintain or modify the Registry. Pertinent information on all Virginians who have indicated a willingness to donate organs and tissues in accordance with the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§ 32.1-291.1 et seq.) shall be compiled, maintained, and modified as necessary in the Registry by the Virginia Transplant Council.

B. The Registry and all information therein shall be confidential and subject to access only by personnel of the Department of Health and designated organ procurement organizations, eye banks, and tissue banks, operating in or serving Virginia that are members of the Virginia Transplant Council, for the purpose of identifying and determining the suitability of a potential donor according to the provisions of subdivision B 4 of § 32.1-127 or subsection G of § 46.2-342.

C. The purpose of the Registry shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Providing a means of recovering an anatomical gift for transplantation, therapy, education or research as authorized by the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§ 32.1-291.1 et seq.) and subsection G of § 46.2-342; and

2. Collecting data to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of educational initiatives promoting organ, eye, and tissue donation that are conducted or coordinated by the Virginia Transplant Council or its members.

D. The Board, in consultation with the Virginia Transplant Council, shall promulgate regulations necessary to create, compile, operate, maintain, modify as necessary, and administer the Virginia Donor Registry. The regulations shall include, but not be limited to:

1. Recording the data subject's full name, address, sex, birth date, age, driver's license number or unique identifying number, and other pertinent identifying personal information;

2. Authorizing the Virginia Transplant Council to analyze Registry data under research protocols that are designed to identify and assess the effectiveness of mechanisms to promote and increase organ, eye, and tissue donation within the Commonwealth; and

3. Providing that any Virginian whose name has been placed in the registry may have his name deleted by filing an appropriate form with the Virginia Transplant Council or in accordance with the Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (§ 32.1-291.1 et seq.).

2000, cc. 481, 490; 2006, c. 166; 2007, cc. 92, 907; 2008, c. 82; 2009, c. 834; 2010, cc. 25, 55; 2016, cc. 135, 743.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

Repealed by Acts 1990, c. 959.

Repealed by Acts 2007, cc. 92 and 907, cl. 2.

The provisions of § 54.1-2972 shall be applicable for the purposes of this article.

1979, c. 711.

No action for implied warranty shall lie for the procurement, processing, distribution or use of whole blood, plasma, blood products, blood derivatives and other human tissue such as corneas, bones, or organs for the purpose of injecting, transfusing or transplanting any of them into the human body except where any defects or impurities in the said whole blood, plasma, blood products, blood derivatives and other human tissue such as corneas, bones, or organs are detectable by the use of established medical and technological procedures employed pursuant to the standards of local medical practice.

Code 1950, § 32-364.2; 1968, c. 81; 1979, c. 711.

A. The Virginia Transplant Council (hereinafter referred to as the Council) is hereby established to fulfill the following duties:

1. To create, compile, maintain, and modify as necessary the Virginia Donor Registry established in § 32.1-292.2 in accordance with the regulations of the Board of Health and the administration of the Department of Health;

2. To conduct public education and information services relating to organ, tissue, and eye donation in the Commonwealth;

3. To coordinate organ, tissue, and eye donation activities in the Commonwealth;

4. To provide a forum for discussion among its members of any issues of which it may be apprised that could impact the effectiveness of its activities and the relationship between the public and its members; and

5. To advise the Board and Department of Health concerning organ, tissue, and eye donation activities, procurement, and transplantation efforts in Virginia.

The Council shall establish such bylaws as may be necessary for its operation, consistent with state and federal law.

B. The membership of the Council shall consist of the following organizations, each of whom shall have one vote: INOVA Fairfax Hospital, Henrico Doctors' Hospital, LifeNet Health, Lion's Medical Eye Bank and Research Center of Eastern Virginia, Mountain Regional Donor Services, Old Dominion Eye Foundation, Inc., Sentara Norfolk General Hospital, University of Virginia Health System, Virginia Commonwealth University Health System, Washington Regional Transplant Community, Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, and any successor organization thereof that remains directly involved in activities related to organ, tissue, or eye donation, procurement, or transplantation in Virginia, and one representative of donor families and one representative of transplant recipients. The Council shall elect, from among its membership, such officers as its bylaws require to serve for the terms established in such bylaws.

The Council shall also elect the representatives of donor families and transplant recipients who shall serve for terms established in the bylaws.

C. In order to provide flexibility and coordination and to prevent duplication of efforts, the Council may agree to extend nonvoting, associate membership on the Council to representatives of other organizations, agencies, or experts, public or private, who (i) are directly involved in or (ii) provide education or information on organ, tissue, or eye donation, procurement, or transplantation. Such membership (a) shall be extended to the Virginia Departments of Education, Health, Health Professions, and Motor Vehicles, and the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association; (b) may include at least one representative of the faith community and one representative of local public schools; and (c) may be extended to other organizations, agencies, or experts as the Council deems appropriate.

D. In addition to the duties assigned in subsection A, the Council (i) shall inform the Board regarding the Council's activities; (ii) shall conduct and coordinate professional education and informational activities as they relate to organ, tissue, and eye donation, procurement, and transplantation efforts; and (iii) as appropriate, may conduct its activities in coordination with other organizations whose goals are related to organ, tissue, or eye donation, procurement, or transplantation. To achieve its purposes efficiently and effectively, the Council may conduct its activities in partnership with its member organizations or may contract for services with appropriate parties.

E. The Council, or the Board on behalf of the Council, may apply for, accept, and expend gifts, grants, or donations from public or private sources to enable the Council to further its purposes and carry out its duties, and the Council may comply with such conditions and requirements as may be imposed on it in connection therewith.

There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to be known as the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund (the Fund). The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller as a revolving fund and shall consist of such gifts, grants, or donations as may be received pursuant to this subsection and any moneys appropriated by the General Assembly to support the Council's education and information programs. Moneys remaining in the Fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund. Interest earned on such funds shall remain in the Fund and be credited to it. The Council shall administer funds made available to it from the Fund and shall disburse such funds in accordance with the purposes of this article.

F. The Council may employ such employees, permanent and temporary, as it may deem necessary for the proper performance of its duties and shall determine their qualifications and duties. Employees of the Council shall be compensated in the manner provided by the Council and shall not be subject to the provisions of the Virginia Personnel Act (§ 2.2-2900 et seq.). Actual expenses incurred by the members of the Council in the performance of their duties and actual costs of hiring and compensating employees of the Council shall be paid from the Virginia Donor Registry and Public Awareness Fund.

G. In addition to such other reports as may be required by the Commissioner or the Board, on or before September 30 of each year, the Council shall submit a report on its activities, programs, and funding in the previous fiscal year to the Board.

1985, c. 412; 1990, c. 336; 1991, c. 37; 1997, c. 799; 2002, c. 467; 2006, c. 166; 2009, c. 834; 2012, c. 692; 2022, c. 72.

A. As used in this section:

"Auxiliary aids or services" means an aid or service that is used to provide information to an individual with a cognitive, developmental, intellectual, neurological, or physical disability in a format or manner that allows the individual to better understand the information. "Auxiliary aids or services" includes (i) qualified interpreters or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials available to persons with hearing impairments; (ii) qualified readers, taped texts, texts in accessible electronic format, or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to persons with visual impairments; (iii) supported decision-making services, including (a) use of a support individual to communicate information to the individual with a disability, ascertain the wishes of the individual, or assist the individual in making decisions; (b) disclosure of information to a legal guardian, authorized representative, or another individual designated by the individual with a disability for such purpose, as long as the disclosure is consistent with state and federal law; and (c) if an individual has a court-appointed guardian or other individual responsible for making medical decisions on behalf of the individual, any measures used to ensure that the individual is included in decisions involving the individual's health care and that medical decisions are made in accordance with the individual's own expressed interests; and (iv) any other aid or service that is used to provide information in a format that is easily understandable and accessible to individuals with cognitive, developmental, intellectual, neurological, or physical disability, including assistive communication technology.

"Covered entity" means any licensed provider of health care services, including any health care practitioner licensed by a health regulatory board of the Department of Health Professions, hospital, nursing facility, laboratory, intermediate care facility, psychiatric residential treatment facility, institution for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities, or prison health center, and any entity responsible for matching anatomical gift donors to potential recipients.

"Eligible individual" means an individual who is a candidate to receive an anatomical gift for transplantation and who is otherwise eligible to receive an anatomical gift for transplantation, with or without auxiliary aids and services.

"Eligible individual with a disability" means an eligible individual with a cognitive, developmental, intellectual, neurological, or physical disability.

"Services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation" means referral to a transplant center or specialist; inclusion on an organ, eye, or tissue transplantation waiting list; evaluation; surgery and related health care services; counseling; or post-transplantation treatment and services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation.

B. An eligible individual shall not be deemed ineligible to receive an anatomical gift or denied services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation solely because he is an eligible individual with a disability. However, an eligible individual may be deemed ineligible to receive an anatomical gift or denied services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation to the extent that his cognitive, developmental, intellectual, neurological, or physical disability has been determined by a health care provider, following an individualized evaluation, to be medically significant to the provision of the anatomical gift for organ, eye, or tissue transplantation.

C. If an eligible individual with a disability has the necessary support system to assist the individual in complying with post-transplantation medical requirements, his inability to independently comply with such post-transplantation medical requirements shall not be deemed to be medically significant.

D. No covered entity shall (i) place an eligible individual with a disability on an organ transplant waiting list at a position lower in priority than the position at which the eligible individual with a disability would have been placed if he did not have a disability or (ii) refuse insurance coverage for any services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation provided to an eligible individual with a disability.

E. A covered entity shall (i) make reasonable modifications to its policies, practices, or procedures to allow eligible individuals with disabilities access to services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation and (ii) take all steps necessary to ensure that an eligible individual with a disability is not denied medical services or services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation due to the absence of auxiliary aids or services. A covered entity shall not be required to comply with clause (ii) if the covered entity demonstrates that taking such steps would fundamentally alter the nature of the medical services or other services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation or would result in an undue burden for the covered entity.

F. In cases in which a violation of this section is alleged to have occurred, a petition shall be filed in the circuit court for the jurisdiction in which the violation is alleged to have occurred or in which the individual is located. Any petition filed pursuant to this subsection shall be given priority on the docket. Any order of the court entered on such petition may grant injunctive relief, including (i) requiring auxiliary aids or services to be made available to an eligible individual with a disability; (ii) requiring the modification of a policy, practice, or procedure of a covered entity; or (iii) requiring that facilities be made accessible to and usable by an eligible individual with a disability.

G. The provisions of this section shall apply to each part of the anatomical gift and organ, eye, or tissue transplantation process.

H. The provisions of this section shall not be construed to require the provision of medically inappropriate services related to organ, eye, or tissue transplantation.

2020, cc. 217, 218.

Any person having charge or control of any dead human body that has been lawfully donated for scientific study shall notify the Commissioner whenever and as soon as any such body comes to his possession, charge, or control and shall, without fee or reward, permit the Commissioner or his agents to remove such body, to be used for the advancement of health science.

Code 1950, § 32-356; 1974, cc. 44, 45; 1979, c. 711; 2014, cc. 228, 583.

A. The bodies received pursuant to § 32.1-298 shall be distributed by the Commissioner to institutions and individuals as they may be needed for the purposes of scientific education and training in health and related subjects as follows:

1. First, to the medical schools in Virginia;

2. Second, equitably to the several colleges and schools of this Commonwealth authorized by law to teach health science and issue diplomas and such physicians and surgeons as the Commissioner may designate;

3. Third, to colleges and schools in other states and the District of Columbia authorized by law to teach health science and issue diplomas.

B. Before any institution or individual may receive any body pursuant to this section, such institution or individual shall have given a bond to the Commonwealth in the penalty of $1,000 with condition that any body received shall be used only for scientific education and training in health and related subjects. Evidence of such bond shall be filed with the Commissioner.

C. All expenses incurred in the distribution and delivery of bodies pursuant to this section shall be paid by those receiving the bodies in such amount as may be prescribed by the Commissioner.

D. The Commissioner is authorized to employ carriers to effect the distribution of dead human bodies pursuant to this section. Any carrier so employed shall obtain a receipt by name or, if the name be unknown, by a description for each body delivered by him and shall deposit such receipt with the Commissioner.

Code 1950, §§ 32-357, 32-358, 32-360, 32-363; 1976, c. 222; 1979, c. 711; 2014, c. 228.

The Commissioner shall keep a record of all bodies received and distributed, together with data pertaining to the disposition thereof.

Code 1950, § 32-355; 1979, c. 711.

After the bodies distributed pursuant to § 32.1-299 have been used for the purpose of instruction, they shall be decently interred or cremated by the institution or individual receiving them. However, if the decedent has stipulated in writing before his death that the cremated remains of his body, lawfully donated for scientific study, shall be returned to relatives for disposition after scientific study has been completed, or if the decedent's next of kin, who lawfully donated the body for scientific study, requests in writing at the time of donation that the decedent's cremated remains be returned to relatives after scientific study has been completed, the institution or individual that received the body shall return the decedent's cremated remains to his next of kin or relatives. Any such writing shall acknowledge the responsibility to maintain the current name, address, and telephone number of the relatives to whom the decedent's cremated remains are to be returned.

The written request of the decedent's next of kin shall include the name of the next of kin, the current address to which the cremated remains shall be delivered, and the current telephone number of the next of kin or relatives where they may be contacted. The costs of transporting and delivering the cremated remains shall be borne by the institution or individual receiving the body. The institution or individual that received the decedent's body and who has received such a written request shall not be obligated to return the decedent's cremated remains if the name, address, and telephone number of the next of kin or relatives have not been provided in such written request or are no longer current.

Code 1950, § 32-359; 1979, c. 711; 2000, c. 477; 2014, c. 583.

The Commissioner may, in his discretion, on the application of any person, empower such person to import into this Commonwealth and traffic in such anatomical material and pathological specimens as the Commissioner may designate.

Code 1950, § 32-362; 1979, c. 711.

Except as provided in §§ 32.1-299 and 32.1-302, if any person sell or buy any dead human body, or in any way traffic in the same, or transmit or convey, or procure in order to be transmitted or conveyed, any such body for the purpose of trafficking in the same to any place outside of this Commonwealth, he shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 32-361; 1976, c. 222; 1979, c. 711.

If any person fail or refuse to perform any duty imposed upon him by this article, he shall, unless otherwise provided, be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Code 1950, § 32-364; 1979, c. 711.

Repealed by Acts 1998, c. 867.