N.Y. Pub. Health Law § 4301

§ 4301. Persons who may execute an anatomical gift. 1. (a) Any\nindividual of sound mind and eighteen years of age or more may give all\nor any part of his or her body for any purpose specified in section\nforty-three hundred two of this article, the gift to take effect upon\ndeath. In any case where the donor has properly executed an organ donor\ncard, driver's license authorization to make an anatomical gift,\npursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section five hundred\nfour of the vehicle and traffic law, registered in the New York state\norgan and tissue donor registry under section forty-three hundred ten of\nthis article, or has otherwise given written authorization for organ or\ntissue donation, authorization for donation shall not be rescinded by an\nobjection by a member of any of the classes specified in paragraphs (a)\nthrough (h) of subdivision two of this section, except upon a showing\nthat the donor revoked the authorization.\n (b) Any person who is sixteen or seventeen years of age and of sound\nmind may give all or any part of his or her body for any purpose\nspecified in section forty-three hundred two of this article, the gift\nto take effect upon death. In any case where the donor has properly\nexecuted an organ donor card, driver's license authorization to make an\nanatomical gift, pursuant to paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section\nfive hundred four of the vehicle and traffic law, or has otherwise given\nwritten authorization for organ or tissue donation, notice of such gift\nshall be provided to the donor's parents or legal guardians, and\nauthorization for donation may be rescinded or amended by an objection\nby a parent or legal guardian of the donor at the time of death and\nprior to the recovery of any organ or tissue if the donor is less than\neighteen years of age. An anatomical gift made by an individual more\nthan sixteen years of age but less than eighteen shall otherwise not be\nrescinded, except upon a showing that the donor revoked the\nauthorization. Upon the donor reaching the age of eighteen, the donor's\nconsent to donate his or her organs or tissue shall be regarded as\nconsent for authorization to make an anatomical gift.\n 2. Any of the following persons, in the order of priority stated, may,\nwhen persons in prior classes are not reasonably available, willing, and\nable to act, at the time of death, and in the absence of actual notice\nof contrary indications by the decedent, or actual notice of opposition\nby a member of the same class or prior class specified in paragraph (a),\n(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) or (h) of this subdivision, or reason to\nbelieve that an anatomical gift is contrary to the decedent's religious\nor moral beliefs, give all or any part of the decedent's body for any\npurpose specified in section forty-three hundred two of this article:\n (a) the person designated as the decedent's health care agent under\narticle twenty-nine-C of this chapter, subject to any written statement\nin the health care proxy form,\n (b) the person designated as the decedent's agent in a written\ninstrument under article forty-two of this chapter, subject to any\nwritten statement in the written instrument,\n (c) the spouse, if not legally separated from the patient, or the\ndomestic partner,\n (d) a son or daughter eighteen years of age or older,\n (e) either parent,\n (f) a brother or sister eighteen years of age or older,\n (g) a guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of his death,\n (h) any other person authorized or under the obligation to dispose of\nthe body.\n 3. For the purposes of this section, "reasonably available" means that\na person to be contacted can be contacted without undue effort and\nwilling and able to act in a timely manner consistent with existing\nmedical criteria necessary for the making of an anatomical gift.\n 4. For the purposes of this section, "domestic partner" means a person\nwho, with respect to another person:\n (a) is formally a party in a domestic partnership or similar\nrelationship with the other person, entered into pursuant to the laws of\nthe United States or any state, local or foreign jurisdiction, or\nregistered as the domestic partner of the person with any registry\nmaintained by the employer of either party or any state, municipality,\nor foreign jurisdiction; or\n (b) is formally recognized as a beneficiary or covered person under\nthe other person's employment benefits or health insurance; or\n (c) is dependent or mutually interdependent on the other person for\nsupport, as evidenced by the totality of the circumstances indicating a\nmutual intent to be domestic partners including but not limited to:\ncommon ownership or joint leasing of real or personal property; common\nhouseholding, shared income or shared expenses; children in common;\nsigns of intent to marry or become domestic partners under paragraph (a)\nor (b) of this subdivision; or the length of the personal relationship\nof the persons.\n Each party to a domestic partnership shall be considered to be the\ndomestic partner of the other party. "Domestic partner" shall not\ninclude a person who is related to the other person by blood in a manner\nthat would bar marriage to the other person in New York state. "Domestic\npartner" shall also not include any person who is less than eighteen\nyears of age or who is the adopted child of the other person or who is\nrelated by blood in a manner that would bar marriage in New York state\nto a person who is the lawful spouse of the other person.\n 5. The donee shall not accept the gift under the following\ncircumstances:\n (a) the donee has actual notice of contrary indication by the\ndecedent;\n (b) where the donor has not properly executed an organ donor card,\ndriver's license authorization to make an anatomical gift, pursuant to\nparagraph (a) of subdivision one of section five hundred four of the\nvehicle and traffic law, registered in the New York state organ and\ntissue donor registry under section forty-three hundred ten of this\narticle, or otherwise given written authorization for organ or tissue\ndonation, or has revoked any such authorization, and the gift is opposed\nby a person or persons in the highest priority available of the classes\nspecified in paragraph (a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) or (h) of\nsubdivision two of this section; or\n (c) the donee has reason to believe that an anatomical gift is\ncontrary to the decedent's religious or moral beliefs.\n 6. A gift of all or part of a body authorizes any examination\nnecessary to assure medical acceptability of gift for the purposes\nintended.\n 7. The rights of the donee created by the gift are paramount to the\nrights of others except as provided by section forty-three hundred eight\nof this article.\n 8. The person who documents the making, amending or revoking of an\nanatomical gift, acting reasonably and in good faith in accordance with\nthis article, may accept an anatomical gift under this article made by a\nperson who represents that he or she is entitled to consent to the\ndonation.\n