Alabama Code 22-19-85. Retention by medical examiner of organs from a deceased person for additional testing to determine identification or cause or manner of death; notice
(a) Unless directed otherwise by the Governor, the Attorney General, a district attorney, or an order of a circuit court judge, a medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, shall notify the next of kin, through the appropriate law enforcement agency, when retaining a deceased person‘s entire organ or organs for additional testing that is required to determine identification or the cause or manner of death.
person: includes a corporation as well as a natural person. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Alabama Code 1-1-1
(b) A medical examiner performing his or her duties in any county in this state as provided under existing law, including a medical examiner employed by the Department of Forensic Sciences, is prohibited from retaining a deceased person’s entire organ or organs for research or any other purpose not in conjunction with a determination of identification or cause or manner of death without notification to, and approval by, the appropriate next of kin.
