1.    Upon request of a procurement organization, a coroner or 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 coroner or medical examiner. If the decedent’s body or part is medically suitable for transplantation, therapy, research, or education, the coroner or medical examiner shall release post-mortem examination results to the procurement organization. The procurement organization may make a subsequent disclosure of the post-mortem examination results or other information received from the coroner or medical examiner only if relevant to transplantation or therapy.

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 23-06.6-22

  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Donor: The person who makes a gift.
  • 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.
  • Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

2.    The coroner or medical examiner may conduct a medicolegal examination 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 coroner or medical examiner which the coroner or medical examiner determines may be relevant to the investigation.

3.    A person that has any information requested by a coroner or medical examiner pursuant to subsection 2 shall provide that information as expeditiously as possible to allow the coroner or 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.

4.    If an anatomical gift has been or might be made of a part of a decedent whose body is under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner and a post-mortem examination is not required, or the coroner or medical examiner determines that a post-mortem 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 coroner or 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.

5.    If an anatomical gift of a part from the decedent under the jurisdiction of the coroner or medical examiner has been or might be made, but the coroner or medical examiner initially believes that the recovery of the part could interfere with the post-mortem investigation into the decedent’s cause or manner of death, the coroner or medical examiner shall consult with the procurement organization or physician or technician designated by the procurement organization about the proposed recovery. The procurement organization shall provide the coroner or medical examiner with all information the organization has which could relate to the cause or manner of the decedent’s death. After consultation, the coroner or medical examiner may allow the recovery.

6.    Following the consultation under subsection 5, in the absence of mutually agreed-upon protocols to resolve conflict between the coroner or medical examiner and the procurement organization, if the coroner or medical examiner intends to deny recovery of an organ for transplantation, the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner, at the request of the procurement organization, shall attend the removal procedure for the part before making a final determination not to allow the procurement organization to recover the part. During the removal procedure, the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner may    allow recovery by the procurement organization to proceed, or, if the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner reasonably believes that the part may be involved in determining the decedent’s cause or manner of death, deny recovery by the procurement organization.

7.    If the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner denies recovery under subsection 6, the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner shall:

a.    Explain in a record the specific reasons for not allowing recovery of the part; b.    Include the specific reasons in the records of the coroner or medical examiner; and c.    Provide a record with the specific reasons to the procurement organization.

8.    If the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner allows recovery of a part under subsection 4, 5, or 6, the procurement organization, upon request, shall cause the physician or technician who removes the part to provide the coroner or 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 post-mortem examination.

9.    If a coroner or medical examiner or designee of a coroner or medical examiner is required to be present at a removal procedure under subsection 6, upon request the procurement organization requesting the recovery of the part shall reimburse the coroner or medical examiner or designee of the coroner or medical examiner for the additional costs incurred in complying with subsection 6.