Terms Used In Vermont Statutes Title 18 Sec. 5250g

  • 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. See
  • Disinterested witness: means a witness other than the spouse, reciprocal beneficiary, 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. See
  • Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
  • Part: means an organ, an eye, or tissue of a human being. See
  • Probate: Proving a will
  • 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. See
  • Refusal: means a record created under section 5250g of this title that expressly states an intent to bar other persons from making an anatomical gift of an individual's body or part. See
  • Sign: means , with the present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:

  • State: means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U. See

§ 5250g. Refusal to make anatomical gift; effect of refusal

(a) An individual may refuse to make an anatomical gift of the individual’s body or part by:

(1) an advance directive executed pursuant to chapter 231 of this title;

(2) a record signed by:

(A) the individual; or

(B) subject to subsection (b) of this section, another individual acting at the direction of the individual if the individual is physically unable to sign;

(3) the individual’s will, whether or not the will is admitted to probate or invalidated after the individual’s death; or

(4) 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)(2)(B) of this section must:

(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) of this subsection.

(c) An individual who has made a refusal may amend or revoke the refusal:

(1) in the manner provided in subsection (a) of this section for making a refusal;

(2) by subsequently making an anatomical gift pursuant to section 5250e of this title 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 5250h(h) of this title, 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. (Added 2009, No. 119 (Adj. Sess.), § 1.)