California · Health and Safety Code - HSC

HSC §7151.40: (a) If there has been an anatomical gift, a technician may remove any donated parts and an enucleator may remove any donated eyes or parts of eyes, after determination of death by a physician and surg

Misdemeanor

What this law says, in plain English

A person who knowingly returns cremated remains of someone other than the donor is punishable by up to one year in county jail. The statute also permits removal of donated organs after death and disposal of unused anatomical materials.

Read the full statutory text

(a) If there has been an anatomical gift, a technician may remove any donated parts and an enucleator may remove any donated eyes or parts of eyes, after determination of death by a physician and surgeon. (b) Following the final disposition of the remains of the donor, upon request of a person specified in Section 7100, the donee shall return the cremated remains of the donor at no cost to the person specified in Section 7100, unless the donor has previously designated otherwise in the document of gift. A person who knowingly returns the cremated remains of a person other than the donor to a person specified in Section 7100 shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year. (c) Residual anatomical materials and human remains donated to hospitals, organ procurement organizations, accredited medical schools, dental schools, colleges, or universities for educational, research, transplantation, or therapeutic use that are no longer useful or needed for those purposes, may be disposed of by those entities through cremation, in the same manner as medical waste, and without additional burial permit requirements if the donor has specifically waived subdivision (b) of Section 7151.40.

Verify at the official source: California legislative text

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This page is legal information, not legal advice. Code text is sourced from official publications and may lag amendments — always confirm at the official source linked above. Plain-English summaries and relationship data are AI-derived and reviewed on an ongoing basis; verify with a licensed attorney before acting.