1. A coroner or medical examiner shall cooperate with a procurement organization to maximize the opportunity to recover anatomical gifts for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research, or education.

2. If a coroner or 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 coroner or medical examiner and a postmortem examination is going to be performed, unless the coroner or medical examiner denies recovery in accordance with section 58.785, the coroner or medical examiner or designee shall conduct a postmortem examination of the body or the part in a manner and within a time period compatible with its preservation for the purposes of the gift.

Terms Used In Missouri Laws 58.780

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020

3. A part may not be removed from the body of a decedent under the jurisdiction of a coroner or 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 coroner or 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 a coroner or medical examiner from performing the medicolegal investigation upon the body or parts of a decedent under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner.