NRS: CHAPTER 460 - HUMAN BLOOD, BLOOD PRODUCTS AND BODY PARTS

[Rev. 6/29/2024 4:12:34 PM--2023]

CHAPTER 460 - HUMAN BLOOD, BLOOD PRODUCTS AND BODY PARTS

GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 460.010 Procurement, processing, distribution or use of certain body parts or products constitutes service; no implied warranties; limited liability.

NRS 460.020 Identifying data concerning person with history of viral hepatitis may be furnished to blood bank; confidentiality and unlawful use of data; penalty.

NRS 460.030 Persons who store or transfuse products made from blood: Records of receipt and disposition; tests; equipment.

NRS 460.040 Minimum age for donation with and without consent of parent or guardian.

ANATOMICAL GIFTS

NRS 460.100 Definitions.

NRS 460.110 “Anatomical gift” defined.

NRS 460.133 “Dean” defined.

NRS 460.139 “School of Medicine” defined.

NRS 460.140 Duties of School of Medicine; “donor” defined.

NRS 460.150 Gifts, grants, appropriations and donations: Authority of School of Medicine; Anatomical Gift Account; disposition of money and claims.

NRS 460.160 Prohibition on discrimination on basis of disability; circumstances under which consideration of disability proper; duties of provider; exceptions; aggrieved person may institute civil action.

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GENERAL PROVISIONS

NRS 460.010 Procurement, processing, distribution or use of certain body parts or products constitutes service; no implied warranties; limited liability. The procurement, processing, distribution or use of any:

1. Whole human blood, plasma, blood product or blood derivative for the purpose of injection or transfusion; or

2. Tissue or organ for the purpose of transplantation,

Ê into the human body constitutes, as to the transmission of infectious disease, the rendition of a service and not a sale by every person participating therein, and no implied warranty of merchantability or fitness, nor any doctrine of liability other than negligence or willful misconduct, applies to the service.

(Added to NRS by 1967, 1381; A 1971, 250; 1985, 1469; 1989, 60)

NRS 460.020 Identifying data concerning person with history of viral hepatitis may be furnished to blood bank; confidentiality and unlawful use of data; penalty.

1. The State Board of Health, the Chief Medical Officer and any health authority, as defined in NRS 439.005, may disseminate to any blood bank in the State of Nevada identifying data concerning any person with a history of viral hepatitis.

2. The State Board of Health shall, pursuant to NRS 441A.120, adopt regulations specifying the identifying data to be disseminated to blood banks pursuant to subsection 1.

3. Any identifying data received by a blood bank pursuant to this section is confidential and may be used only for screening prospective blood donors.

4. Any person who has access to identifying data disseminated to a blood bank pursuant to this section and who divulges or uses such information in any manner except to screen prospective blood donors is guilty of a misdemeanor.

(Added to NRS by 1975, 128; A 1989, 300)

NRS 460.030 Persons who store or transfuse products made from blood: Records of receipt and disposition; tests; equipment. Any physician, hospital, clinic, surgical center for ambulatory patients or other organization that stores or transfuses products made from blood shall:

1. Maintain records of all serological tests and the receipt and disposition of products made from blood in accordance with applicable standards for laboratories published by the American Association of Blood Banks, in the form most recently published before January 1, 1983;

2. Test for compatibility and blood grouping; and

3. Be equipped with a refrigerator which regulates its own temperature and warns of failure to maintain the prescribed temperature.

(Added to NRS by 1983, 599; A 1985, 1753)

NRS 460.040 Minimum age for donation with and without consent of parent or guardian.

1. Any person who is 16 years of age may donate his or her blood with the consent of his or her parent or guardian.

2. Any person who is 17 years of age or older may donate his or her blood without the consent of his or her parent or guardian.

(Added to NRS by 1983, 599; A 2013, 448)

ANATOMICAL GIFTS

NRS 460.100 Definitions. As used in NRS 460.100 to 460.160, inclusive, unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 460.110, 460.133 and 460.139 have the meanings ascribed to them in those sections.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 680; A 2005, 243; 2021, 1167)

NRS 460.110 “Anatomical gift” defined. “Anatomical gift” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 451.513.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 680)

NRS 460.133 “Dean” defined. “Dean” means the Dean of the School of Medicine or the Dean’s designee.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 243)

NRS 460.139 “School of Medicine” defined. “School of Medicine” means the University of Nevada School of Medicine.

(Added to NRS by 2005, 243)

NRS 460.140 Duties of School of Medicine; “donor” defined.

1. The School of Medicine shall:

(a) Establish and carry out educational programs relating to anatomical gifts;

(b) Establish and carry out local and statewide programs to acknowledge publicly families of donors;

(d) If the Dean determines that there is sufficient money in the Anatomical Gift Account created by NRS 460.150, pay the costs for the transplantation of an organ or tissue, including the cost for any medicine required as a result of the transplantation.

2. As used in this section, “donor” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 451.525.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 680; A 2005, 244)

NRS 460.150 Gifts, grants, appropriations and donations: Authority of School of Medicine; Anatomical Gift Account; disposition of money and claims.

1. The School of Medicine may apply for and accept any gifts, grants, appropriations or donations to assist the School of Medicine in carrying out programs relating to anatomical gifts.

2. Any money received by the School of Medicine for programs relating to anatomical gifts must be deposited in the State Treasury for credit to the Anatomical Gift Account which is hereby created in the State General Fund. The Dean shall administer the Account.

3. The money in the Account must only be used to:

(a) Carry out the provisions of NRS 460.140; and

(b) Pay the costs incurred by the School of Medicine to administer programs relating to anatomical gifts. The total amount paid pursuant to this paragraph in any one fiscal year must not exceed 20 percent of the average balance of the Account for the immediately preceding fiscal year.

4. The money in the Account must:

(a) Be invested as money in other state accounts is invested; and

(b) Remain in the Account and does not revert to the State General Fund at the end of any fiscal year.

5. Each claim against the Account must be:

(a) Approved by the Dean before the claim is paid; and

(b) Paid as other claims against the State are paid.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 680; A 2005, 244; 2007, 49)

1. A provider of medical or related services shall not, solely on the basis of a person’s disability:

(a) Determine that the person is ineligible to receive an anatomical gift;

(b) Refuse to perform any medical service or other service related to an organ transplant, including, without limitation:

(1) Referral to an organ transplant center;

(2) Diagnostic tests;

(3) Evaluation of eligibility for an organ transplant;

(4) Surgery; and

(5) Other services required for the care of a transplant patient;

(c) Refuse to place the person on a waiting list for an organ transplant if the person is otherwise a suitable candidate for a transplant; or

(d) Place the person on a waiting list for an organ transplant in a lower priority position than the position at which the person would have been placed if the person did not have a disability.

2. A provider of medical or related services may consider a person’s disability when making recommendations or decisions concerning an organ transplant only to the extent that the disability has been found by a physician to be medically relevant to the organ transplant. In making such a determination, a physician shall not consider the inability of the person with a disability to independently comply with the directions of a physician regarding postoperative care to be medically relevant to the organ transplant if, in the opinion of the physician, the person will be able to comply with such directions with the assistance of a person who can reasonably be expected to support or provide service to the person with a disability.

3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a provider of medical or related services shall:

(a) Make reasonable modifications to any policy, procedure or practice necessary to provide a person with a disability access to any medical service or other service provided by the provider of medical or related services that is related to an organ transplant.

(b) Take any steps necessary to ensure that a person with a disability is not denied any medical service or other service provided by the provider of medical or related services that is related to an organ transplant due to the absence of auxiliary aids or services.

(c) Communicate with a supporter named in a supported decision-making agreement pursuant to chapter 162C of NRS to assist the supporter in providing assistance to a person with a disability to gather and access information, make informed decisions and communicate decisions.

4. A provider of medical or related services is not required to comply with the requirements of:

(a) Paragraph (a) of subsection 3 if the provider of medical or related services determines that making such modifications would fundamentally alter a service.

(b) Paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection 3 if the provider of medical or related services determines that performing such actions would fundamentally alter a service or cause an undue hardship on the provider of medical or other related services.

5. Nothing in this section shall be deemed to require a provider of medical or related services to perform any medical service or other service related to an organ transplant, including, without limitation, making any referral or recommendation, that the provider of medical or related services determines is medically inappropriate.

6. A person aggrieved by a violation of this section may institute a civil action in a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctive or any other appropriate relief to prohibit and prevent the violation. A court shall give priority over other civil actions to an action brought pursuant to this subsection.

7. An injunction issued pursuant to subsection 6 does not abrogate and is in addition to any other remedies and penalties that may exist at law or in equity.

8. As used in this section:

(a) “Anatomical gift” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 451.513.

(b) “Auxiliary aids or services” means an aid or service that is used to ensure effective communication with a person with a disability, including, without limitation:

(1) Qualified interpreters or other effective methods of making aurally delivered information available to a person who is deaf or hard of hearing; and

(2) Qualified readers, taped texts, accessible electronic and information technology or other effective methods of making visually delivered materials available to a person who is blind.

(d) “Facility for the dependent” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 449.0045.

(e) “Fundamentally alter” means to change so significantly as to alter the essential nature of the services.

(f) “Medical facility” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 449.0151.

(g) “Person who is blind” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 426.082.

(h) “Person who is deaf” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 426.084.

(i) “Physician” means a physician licensed pursuant to chapter 630 or 633 of NRS.

(j) “Provider of health care” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 629.031.

(k) “Provider of medical or related services” means a provider of health care, a medical facility, a facility for the dependent, the Department of Corrections, a city or county jail or any person who provides medical services to a person incarcerated in a prison or a city or county jail.

(l) “Supporter” has the meaning ascribed to it in NRS 162C.090.

(Added to NRS by 2021, 1165)