(a) (1) Subject to the limitations in this title or in any other law, an employee may voluntarily donate unused annual, sick, or personal leave to another employee who has exhausted all available annual, personal, sick, and compensatory leave because of a serious and prolonged medical condition of the employee or a catastrophic illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family.

(2) The employee who donates leave shall designate the recipient of the leave.

(b) An employee who receives leave through the Leave Donation Program may only use the leave for:

(1) an illness or disability of the employee due to the medical condition that existed at the time of the donation; or

(2) a catastrophic illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family for whom the employee is needed to provide direct care.

(c) (1) An employee may use leave received through the Leave Donation Program for a catastrophic illness or injury of a member of the employee’s immediate family only after obtaining approval from the employee’s appointing authority.

(2) Approval by the employee’s appointing authority is discretionary, and denial may be based on any reason which is consistently applied and that is not illegal or unconstitutional.