§ 130A-412.32.  Duty of hospitals to establish organ procurement protocols.

(a) In order to facilitate the goals of this Part, each hospital shall establish written protocols that:

(1) Require that only the organ procurement organization designated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services be notified of all deaths or impending brain deaths meeting criteria for notification as established by the designated organ procurement organization; and

(2) Ensure that notification required under subdivision (1) of this subsection be made as soon as it is determined that brain death is imminent or cardiac death has occurred.

(b) Hospitals shall provide their federally designated organ procurement organizations and tissue banks reasonable access to patients' medical records for the purpose of determining organ or tissue donation potential.

(c) The family of any person whose organ or tissue is donated for transplantation shall not be financially liable for any costs related to the evaluation of the suitability of the donor's organ or tissue for transplantation, or for any costs of retrieval of the organ or tissue.

(d) Each hospital shall provide its federally designated organ procurement organization with reasonable access during regular business hours to the medical records of deceased patients for the following purposes:

(1) Determining the hospital's organ and tissue donation potential;

(2) Assessing the educational needs of the hospital in regard to the organ and tissue donation process; and

(3) Providing documentation to the hospital to evaluate the effectiveness of the hospital's efforts.

(e) Each hospital shall have a signed agreement with its federally designated organ procurement organization that addresses the requirements of this section and the requirements of G.S. 130A-412.33.

(f) The requirements of this section, or of any hospital procurement protocols established pursuant to this section, shall not exceed those provided for by the hospital organ protocol provisions of Title XI of the Social Security Act, except for the purposes of this section the term "organ and tissue donors" shall include cornea and tissue donors for transplantation.

(g) Hospitals and hospital personnel shall not be subject to civil or criminal liability nor to discipline for unprofessional conduct for actions taken in good faith to comply with this section. This subsection shall not provide immunity from civil liability arising from gross negligence. (1987, c. 719, s. 1; 1989, c. 537, s. 4; 1997-192, s. 2; 1997-456, s. 48; 2007-538, ss. 3(a), 4.)