NY State Senate Bill 2017-S1638

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to health
Jan 10, 2017	referred to health

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Health
Law Section:: Public Health Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §4307, Pub Health L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2009-2010: S2187
2011-2012: S2147
2013-2014: S2235
2015-2016: S1705

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Prohibits the procurement of human body parts for use in human transplantation except as provided by law; requires the procurement of body parts be performed only at registered facilities and such facilities shall document any procurements and retain such documentation.

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S1638

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the public health law, in relation
to sales and purchases of human organs

 PURPOSE :

To address current shortcomings in the public Health law with respect
to the harvesting of body parts, specifically in the context of
non-organ tissue.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section one of this bill amends section 4307 of the Public Health Law
to prohibit the sale of human organs and body parts other than blood
and ocular tissue. Subdivision 1 is changed to add "or procure any
body part in violation of this section." Further, subdivision 1
provides that any person who violates this section shall be guilty of
a class E felony for each instance of sale. The definition of human
organ is removed from this subdivision.

A new subdivision 3 is added to section 4307 of the Public Health Law
to define terms. Paragraph (a) defines "procure" as meaning and
including the act of knowingly acquiring, receiving, or otherwise
transferring. Paragraph (b) defines. "human organ" as kidney, liver,
heart, lung, bone marrow, and any other human organ or tissue as may

be designated by the commissioner but shall exclude blood, and ocular
tissue which is recovered by licensed eye bank personnel. Paragraph
(c) defines the term "valuable consideration." Paragraph (d) defines
"body part" to mean and include the terms included in the definition
of body part pursuant to subdivision 5 of section 4300 of the current
article, but shall exclude blood and ocular tissue recovered by
licensed eye bank personnel or any other element the commissioner
deems necessary.

A new subdivision 4 is added to Public Health Law section 4307 to
require the Commissioner to prescribe rules and regulations concerning
procurement of human body parts. These regulations must provide, at a
minimum, that: (a) all procurement must be performed only by a
facility registered with the Department to do such, (b) all registered
facilities must document the procurement of each body part, retain the
documentation for a minimum of 6 years from the date of the
procurement and produce the documentation upon request by the
Department or any police officer acting in his or her official
capacity, and (c) no funeral director, undertaker, mortuary student or
funeral home or facility shall conduct or participate in procurement
of human body parts.

Section two of this bill provides that this act shall take effect on
the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.

 EXISTING LAW :

Current law prohibits the sale of human organs, but not human body
parts.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Amid scandals involving the illegal buying, selling and distribution
of human tissue by funeral homes and licensed biomedical companies,
deficiencies in current law with respect to this area have become
apparent. These scandals have involved funeral homes removing tissue
(e.g. skin, bone, organs and non-organ tissue) from bodies before
embalming or cremation without the permission of the deceased's
family. The tissue was illegally sold to biomedical companies who
would then present it as legitimately harvested tissue. In some
instances, the ages of donors were changed and unscreened tissue taken
from cancer patients was used in implant and replacement procedures.

Obviously, this practice most directly affected the families of the
deceased and the recipients of the tissue. The disregard of the
wellbeing of patient and lack of respect for the dead exhibited by the
perpetrators of these schemes is astonishing. This bill creates
stricter regulation of harvesting procedures, thereby reducing the
possibility that such an atrocity will ever happen again.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

2016: S.1705-A - Referred to Health
2015: S.1705 - Referred to Health
2014: S.2235 - Reported to Codes
2013: S.2235 - Passed the Senate
2012: S.2147-B - Advanced to Third Reading
2011: S.2147-8 - Passed the Senate
2010: S.2187 - Referred to Health
2009: S.2187 - Referred to Health
2008: S.209 - Passed the Senate
2007: S.209 - Passed the Senate
2006: S.8477 - Referred to Rules

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

None.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law.

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1638
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 10, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  GOLDEN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
 
 AN ACT to amend  the  public  health  law,  in  relation  to  sales  and
   purchases of human organs
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1. Section 4307 of the public health law, as amended by  chap-
 ter 362 of the laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   §  4307.  Prohibition  of  sales and purchases of human organs OR BODY
 PARTS. 1. It shall be unlawful for  any  person  to  knowingly  acquire,
 receive,  or  otherwise  transfer  for  valuable consideration any human
 organ for use in human transplantation, OR TO PROCURE ANY BODY  PART  IN
 VIOLATION OF THIS SECTION. [The term human organ means the human kidney,
 liver,  heart, lung, bone marrow, and any other human organ or tissue as
 may be designated by the commissioner but shall exclude blood. The  term
 "valuable  consideration" does not include the reasonable payments asso-
 ciated with the removal, transportation, implantation, processing, pres-
 ervation, quality control, and storage of a human organ or the  expenses
 of  travel,  housing,  and  lost  wages incurred by the donor of a human
 organ in connection with the donation of  the  organ.]  Any  person  who
 violates  this  section  shall  be  guilty  of a class E felony FOR EACH
 INSTANCE OF SALE.
   2. For the purposes of this section, the donation of a kidney or other
 organ from a live donor for transplantation into  an  individual  condi-
 tioned  upon the donation and transplantation of a similar organ into an
 individual specified by the donor  shall  not,  in  and  of  itself,  be
 considered  to  be  "valuable consideration" provided that such donation
 and transplant are performed in accordance with other  applicable  laws,
 rules  and regulations, including any specific rules and regulations the
 commissioner may adopt, with the advice and consent  of  the  transplant
 council,  with  respect to such conditional donations. No individual may
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD01731-01-7

 S. 1638                             2
 
 make a donation conditioned upon the race, color, creed, national origin
 or religious affiliation  of  the  recipient,  and  no  hospital,  organ
 procurement  organization,  tissue bank, physician or other professional
 may participate in the performance of any procedure or otherwise facili-
 tate the donation and/or transfer of organs and/or tissue conditioned on
 such factors.
   3. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION:
   (A) THE TERM "PROCURE" MEANS AND INCLUDES THE ACT OF KNOWINGLY ACQUIR-
 ING, RECEIVING, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFERRING;
   (B) THE TERM "HUMAN ORGAN" MEANS THE HUMAN KIDNEY, LIVER, HEART, LUNG,
 BONE MARROW, AND ANY OTHER HUMAN ORGAN OR TISSUE AS MAY BE DESIGNATED BY
 THE  COMMISSIONER  BUT  SHALL  EXCLUDE BLOOD, AND OCULAR TISSUE WHICH IS
 RECOVERED BY LICENSED EYE BANK PERSONNEL;
   (C) THE TERM "VALUABLE CONSIDERATION" DOES NOT INCLUDE THE  REASONABLE
 PAYMENTS  ASSOCIATED  WITH  THE  REMOVAL,  TRANSPORTATION, IMPLANTATION,
 PROCESSING, PRESERVATION, QUALITY CONTROL, AND STORAGE OF A HUMAN  ORGAN
 OR THE EXPENSES OF TRAVEL, HOUSING, AND LOST WAGES INCURRED BY THE DONOR
 OF A HUMAN ORGAN IN CONNECTION WITH THE DONATION OF THE ORGAN OR REASON-
 ABLE  COMPENSATION  FOR RESTORATIVE WORK PERFORMED BY A LICENSED FUNERAL
 DIRECTOR IN CONNECTION WITH PROCUREMENT OF A HUMAN ORGAN;
   (D) THE TERM "BODY PART" MEANS AND INCLUDES THE TERMS INCLUDED IN  THE
 DEFINITION  OF  BODY PART PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIVE OF SECTION FORTY-
 THREE HUNDRED OF THIS ARTICLE,  BUT  SHALL  EXCLUDE  BLOOD,  AND  OCULAR
 TISSUE  WHICH  IS  RECOVERED BY LICENSED EYE BANK PERSONNEL OR ANY OTHER
 ELEMENT AS THE COMMISSIONER MAY DEEM NECESSARY.
   4. THE COMMISSIONER SHALL PRESCRIBE RULES AND  REGULATIONS  CONCERNING
 PROCUREMENT  OF  HUMAN BODY PARTS, WHICH SHALL REQUIRE AT A MINIMUM THAT
 (A) ALL PROCUREMENT OF SUCH BODY PARTS BE PERFORMED ONLY BY  A  FACILITY
 REGISTERED  WITH  THE  DEPARTMENT TO UNDERTAKE SUCH PROCUREMENT, (B) ALL
 FACILITIES REGISTERED FOR PROCUREMENT OF HUMAN BODY PARTS SHALL DOCUMENT
 THE PROCUREMENT OF EACH BODY PART, RETAIN SUCH DOCUMENTATION FOR A MINI-
 MUM OF SIX YEARS FROM THE DATE OF  THE  PROCUREMENT,  AND  PRODUCE  SUCH
 DOCUMENTATION  UPON  REQUEST  BY THE DEPARTMENT OR BY ANY POLICE OFFICER
 ACTING IN HIS OR HER OFFICIAL CAPACITY, AND  (C)  NO  FUNERAL  DIRECTOR,
 UNDERTAKER,  REGISTERED RESIDENT, MORTUARY STUDENT OR REGISTERED FUNERAL
 HOME OR FACILITY SHALL CONDUCT OR PARTICIPATE IN  PROCUREMENT  OF  HUMAN
 BODY PARTS.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
 it shall have become a law.

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Senate Bill S1638

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S1638

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Sponsored By

Martin J. Golden

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Health Committee

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Details

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2017-S1638 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments