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History
- Referred to health
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Relates to the sale or purchase of human body parts
In Assembly Committee · Health · Sponsor Brian Kavanagh
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
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 parte, specifically in the context of non-organ tissue.
Summary of provisions
Section one amends section 4307 of the public health law to prohibit the sale of human organs and 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 then sold illegally to biomedical companies who would then present it as legitimately harvested tissue. In some instances, the ages of donors had been changed and unscreened tissue taken from cancer patients had been 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
2007-08: S.209 - Referred to Health, Passed Senate 2006: S.8477
Fiscal implications
None.
Effective date
Immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.