The following words and phrases when used in this chapter shall have the meanings given to them in this section unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

"Acute care general hospital." Any hospital which has an emergency room facility.

"Adult." An individual who is at least 18 years of age.

"Advance health care directive." As defined in section 5422 (relating to definitions).

"Advisory committee." The Organ and Tissue Donation Advisory Committee established under section 8622 (relating to The Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund).

"Agent." Any of the following:

(1) A health care agent authorized to make health care decisions on a principal's behalf under Subchapter C of Chapter 54 (relating to health care agents and representatives).

(2) An individual expressly authorized to make an anatomical gift on a principal's behalf by any other record signed by the principal.

"Anatomical donation." An anatomical gift.

"Anatomical gift." A donation of all or part of a human body to take effect after the donor's death for the purpose of transplantation, therapy, research or education. The term does not include vascularized composite allografts, including a human hand, facial tissue or limb.

"Bank or storage facility." (Deleted by amendment).

"Board." The Humanity Gifts Registry.

"Decedent." A deceased individual whose body or part is or may be the source of an anatomical gift. The term includes a stillborn infant and, subject to restrictions imposed by other laws, a fetus. The term does not include a blastocyst, embryo or fetus that is the subject of an induced abortion.

"Document of gift." A donor card or other record used to make, amend or revoke an anatomical gift. The term includes a statement or symbol on a driver's license or identification card or in a donor registry.

"Donate Life PA Registry." That subset of persons in the Department of Transportation's driver's license and photo identification card database who have elected to include the donor designation on their record. This term shall not refer to a separate database.

"Donor." An individual who makes a gift of all or part of his body.

"Donor registry." A database which contains records of anatomical gifts. The term includes the Donate Life PA Registry.

"Eye bank." A person that is licensed, accredited or regulated under Federal or State law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage or distribution of human eyes or portions of human eyes.

"Fund." The Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund established under section 8622 (relating to The Governor Robert P. Casey Memorial Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness Trust Fund).

"Hospital." An institution licensed in this Commonwealth having an organized medical staff established for the purpose of providing to inpatients, by or under the supervision of physicians, diagnostic and therapeutic services for the care of persons who are injured, disabled, pregnant, diseased, sick or mentally ill or rehabilitation services for the rehabilitation of persons who are injured, disabled, pregnant, diseased, sick or mentally ill. The term includes facilities for the diagnosis and treatment of disorders within the scope of specific medical specialties. The term does not include facilities caring exclusively for the mentally ill.

"Hospital administrator." Any individual appointed by a hospital's governing body to act on behalf of the hospital's governing body in the overall management of the hospital. The term includes a designee of the individual who is authorized by the hospital to exercise supervisory authority.

"Know." To have actual knowledge. When the word "known" is used as an adjective to modify a term, the meaning is that there is actual knowledge about the modified term.

"Minor." An individual who is under 18 years of age.

"Organ." A human kidney, liver, heart, lung, pancreas, esophagus, stomach, small or large intestine or any portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The term also includes blood vessels recovered during the recovery of such organs if the vessels are intended for use in organ transplantation and labeled, "for use in organ transplant only." The term does not include a human hand, facial tissue, limb or other vascularized composite allograft.

"Organ procurement organization." An organization designated for the region by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services as an organ procurement organization.

"Part." Organs, tissues, eyes, bones, arteries, blood, other fluids and any other portions of a human body. The term does not include a human hand, facial tissue, limb or other vascularized composite allograft.

"Person." An individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, association or any other legal entity.

"Person authorized or obligated to dispose of a decedent's body." Any of the following, without regard to order of priority:

(1) A coroner or medical examiner having jurisdiction over the decedent's body.

(2) A warden or director of a correctional facility where the decedent was incarcerated.

(3) A hospital administrator of the hospital where the decedent's death was pronounced.

(4) Any other person authorized or under obligation to dispose of the decedent's body.

"Physician" or "surgeon." A physician or surgeon licensed or authorized to practice under the laws of any state.

"Reasonably available." Able to be contacted by an organ procurement organization with reasonable effort and willing and able to exercise the decision to refuse or to authorize anatomical donation in a timely manner consistent with existing medical criteria necessary to make an anatomical gift.

"Recipient." An individual into whose body a decedent's part has been or is intended to be transplanted.

"Record." Information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

"Recovery procedure." The process of removing cells, tissues and organs from a decedent. The term does not include the recovery of vascularized composite allografts, including recovery of a human hand, facial tissue or limb.

"State." Any state, district, commonwealth, territory, insular possession and any other area subject to the legislative authority of the United States of America.

"Tissue." A portion of the human body other than an organ or an eye. The term does not include blood, unless the blood is donated for the purpose of research or education. The term also does not include vascularized composite allografts, including a human hand, facial tissue or limb.

"Tissue bank." A person that is licensed, accredited or regulated under Federal or State law to engage in the recovery, screening, testing, processing, storage or distribution of tissue.

"Unlawful competition." Conduct declared unlawful under section 3 of the act of December 17, 1968 (P.L.1224, No.387), known as the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law.

"Vascularized composite allograft." A human hand, facial tissue, limb and other parts of the body which require blood flow by surgical connection of blood vessels to function after transplantation and which contain multiple tissue types, recovered from a human donor as an anatomical or structural unit, minimally manipulated, for homologous use, not combined with another article such as a device, susceptible to ischemia and susceptible to allograft rejection. The term also includes a part of the body specified as a vascularized composite allograft by the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services by regulation, in accordance with the National Organ Transplant Act (Public Law 98-507, 42 U.S.C. § 274e). The term does not include an organ, part, eye or tissue.

(Dec. 20, 2000, P.L.881, No.120, eff. imd.; Oct. 23, 2018, P.L.594, No.90)

2018 Amendment. Act 90 amended the defs. of "advisory committee," "decedent," "organ procurement organization" and "part," added the defs. of "adult," "advance health care directive," "agent," "anatomical donation," "anatomical gift," "document of gift," "Donate Life PA Registry," "donor registry," "eye bank," "hospital administrator," "know," "minor," "organ," "person authorized or obligated to dispose of a decedent's body," "reasonably available," "recipient," "record," "recovery procedure," "tissue," "tissue bank" and "vascularized composite allograft" and deleted the def. of "bank or storage facility." Section 11(3) of Act 90 provided that the amendment of section 8601 shall take effect upon publication of the notice under section 8629.

2000 Amendment. See sections 2, 3 and 4 of Act 120 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to references to Organ Donation Awareness Trust Fund, use of existing forms by Department of Revenue and use of existing forms by Department of Transportation.