South Carolina General Assembly
105th Session, 1983-1984

Bill 2730

                    Current Status

Bill Number:               2730
Ratification Number:       215
Act Number                 129
Introducing Body:          House
Subject:                   Donation of eyes
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(Text matches printed bills. Document has been reformatted to meet World Wide Web specifications.)

(A129, R215, H2730)

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTIONS 44-43-140, 44-43-150 AND 44-43-160, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO THE DONATION OF EYES, SO AS TO AUTHORIZE MEDICALLY TRAINED AND CERTIFIED TECHNICIANS TO REMOVE EYES FROM A DONOR AND WHERE A DONEE IS NOT SPECIFIED SUCH TECHNICIANS ARE CONSIDERED THE DONEE; AND TO PERMIT THE SOUTH CAROLINA EYE BANK, INC. TO CHARGE A REASONABLE PROCESSING FEE.

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

Donation of eyes

SECTION 1. Section 44-43-150 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 44-43-150. The authority for any hospital, medical physician, surgeon, licensed embalmer, or medically trained and certified technicians to remove, and use the eyes of a person donating or bequeathing his eyes is by a written statement or last will and testament or codicil."

No charge to donee

SECTION 2. Section 44-43-160 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 44-43-160. No charge or cost whatsoever may be made to the donee for the eyes to be used for eyesight-restoration purposes, but nothing in this section is construed to prohibit the payment of a reasonable processing fee to the South Carolina Eye Bank, Inc. or a fee to any medical physician or surgeon for performing an operation whereby the donee of the eyes has his eyesight restored."

Persons may designate donee

SECTION 3. Section 44-43-140 of the 1976 Code is amended to read:

"Section 44-43-140. Persons so donating or bequeathing their eyes for eyesight-restoration purposes may designate the donee, but such shall not be necessary. If no donee is named by the donor in such written instrument or last will and testament, then any hospital in which the donor may depart this life or any available medical physician, surgeon, medically trained and certified technician, or licensed embalmer who has completed a course of training in eye extraction which shall be under the supervision of the Medical University of South Carolina shall be considered the donee and have full authority to take and remove the eyes of the donor upon his death and thereafter to use such donated eyes for restoration of sight of the person so designated by the donor or, if such donee is not available or no donee is named by the donor, then the use of such eyes for such restoration-of-eyesight purposes shall be made available to any person in need thereof."

Time effective

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon approval by the Governor.