Senate Bill No. 679
(By Senator White)
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[Introduced March 21, 2005; referred to the Committee
on Health and Human Resources.]
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A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §16-23-2, relating to
requiring acquired immunodeficiency syndrome test for donors
of certain corneas, semen, bones, organs or other human tissue
for the purpose of injecting, transfusing or transplanting any
of them in the human body; prohibiting the intentional,
knowing, reckless or negligent use of the corneas, semen,
bones, organs or other human tissue of a donor unless
the test
is performed; prohibiting the use of such material if
the
donor has tested positive for exposure to human
immunodeficiency virus; allowing a solid organ transplant of
an organ from a human immunodeficiency virus infected donor to
a person who has tested positive for exposure to human
immunodeficiency virus and who is in immediate threat of death
unless the transplant is performed; providing definitions; and providing criminal penalties.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §16-23-2, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 23. TRANSFUSION OF BLOOD; TRANSPLANTING HUMAN ORGANS OR
TISSUE.
§16-23-2. Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome test for organ
donors; definitions; penalties.
(a) (1) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c) of this
section no person may intentionally, knowingly, recklessly or
negligently use the semen, corneas, bones, organs or other human
tissue of a donor unless the requirements of subsection (b) have
been met.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in subsection (c), no person
may intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently use the
semen, corneas, bones, organs, or other human tissue of a donor who
has tested positive for exposure to human immunodeficiency virus or
any other identified causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome.
(b) All donors of semen for purposes of artificial
insemination, or donors of corneas, bones, organs or other human
tissue for the purpose of injecting, transfusing or transplanting
any of them in the human body, shall be tested for evidence of exposure to human immunodeficiency virus and any other identified
causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome at the time
of or after the donation but prior to the semen, corneas, bones,
organs or other human tissue being made available for that use.
When in the opinion of the attending physician the life of a
recipient of a bone, organ or other human tissue donation would be
jeopardized by delays caused by testing for evidence of exposure to
human immunodeficiency virus and any other causative agent of
acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, testing is not required.
(c) It is not a violation of this section for a person to
perform a solid organ transplant of an organ from an human
immunodeficiency virus infected donor to a person who has tested
positive for exposure to human immunodeficiency virus or any other
identified causative agent of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome
and who is in immediate threat of death unless the transplant is
performed. A tissue bank that provides an organ from a human
immunodeficiency virus infected donor under this subsection is not
criminally or civilly liable for the furnishing of that organ under
this subsection.
(d) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Human tissue" does not include whole blood or its
component parts.
(2) "Tissue bank" means any facility or program that is
involved in procuring, furnishing, donating, processing or distributing corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue for the
purpose of injecting, transfusing, or transplanting any of them in
the human body.
(3) "Solid organ transplant" means the surgical
transplantation of internal organs including, but not limited to,
the liver, kidney, pancreas, lungs or heart. "Solid organ
transplant" does not mean a bone marrow based transplant or a blood
transfusion.
(4) "Human immunodeficiency virus infected donor" means a
deceased donor who was infected with human immunodeficiency virus
or a living donor known to be infected with human immunodeficiency
virus and who is willing to donate a part or all of one or more of
his or her organs. A determination of the donor's human
immunodeficiency virus infection is made by the donor's medical
history or by specific tests that document human immunodeficiency
virus infection, such as human immunodeficiency virus RNA or DNA,
or by antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus.
(e) A person who violates subsection (a) of this section is
guilty of a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not
more than five thousand dollars or imprisoned in a state
correctional facility for a period of not less than one year nor
more than two years, or both fined and imprisoned.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to require
donors of semen
for purposes of artificial insemination, or donors of corneas,
bones, organs or other human tissue for the purpose of injecting,
transfusing or transplanting any of them in the human body, to be
tested for evidence of exposure to human immunodeficiency virus
before the material is made available for that use.
It
prohibits
the intentional, knowing, reckless or negligent use the semen,
corneas, bones, organs or other human tissue of a donor unless
the
test is performed and prohibits the use of the material if
the
donor has tested positive for exposure to human immunodeficiency
virus. It does, however, allow a solid organ transplant of an
organ from a human immunodeficiency virus infected donor to a
person who has tested positive for exposure to human
immunodeficiency virus and who is in immediate threat of death
unless the transplant is performed.
This section is new; therefore, strike-throughs and
underscoring have been omitted.
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